US-led force tracks Syria jihadists

A US-backed force said yesterday it was chasing Islamic State group jihadists in eastern Syria, as coalition warplanes pound the militants more than a week after their "caliphate" was declared defeated.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by warplanes of a US-led coalition, dislodged IS fighters from their last redoubt in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border on March 23, following a months-long offensive.

The US-backed alliance is now "tracking down remnants of the terrorist group", SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali said yesterday.

The US-led coalition said it was supporting sweeping operations with air strikes on jihadist hideouts.