Islamic State faced imminent defeat in its final enclave on Tuesday, as hundreds of jihadist fighters and their families surrendered to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The SDF said the battle was as good as over.
A Reuters journalist in Baghouz saw hundreds of people surrendering to the SDF, which launched its final attack to capture Baghouz on Sunday, backed by US-led international coalition air strikes after weeks of siege.
The ferocious assault continued late on Tuesday. Live footage broadcast by the Kurdish Ronahi TV showed a series of large explosions lighting up the night sky over Baghouz, apparently from an ammunitions dump blowing up.
Smoke billowed past burning buildings, lit orange by flares and raging fires, as tracer fire poured into the enclave amid the sound of constant shooting and blasts.
The enclave is the last shred of territory held by the jihadists, who have been driven from roughly one third of Iraq and Syria over the past four years.
SDF official Mustafa Bali said the number of surrendered Islamic State members has risen to 3000.
“Once our forces confirm that everyone who wants to surrender has done so ... the clashes will resume,” he said, adding that the jihadists’ defeat was very near.
The jihadists had fired two rockets, he added, an indication of continued IS resistance.
US-led coalition jets mounted 20 air raids that had destroyed IS military vehicles, defensive fortifications, two ammunition stores and a command post.
Another SDF official said 38 jihadists had been confirmed killed.
Washington does not believe any senior Islamic State leaders are in Baghouz, assessing they have gone elsewhere as part of the group's shift towards an insurgency, a US defence official has said.
The group still operates in remote territory elsewhere and it is widely assessed that it will continue to represent a potent security threat.
The bulk of the people evacuated from the diminishing Islamic State territory have been transported to a camp for internally displaced people in al-Hol, in northeastern Syria, where the United Nations says conditions are "extremely dire".
The camp, designed to accommodate 20,000 people, is now sheltering more than 66,000, the UN said.
