Warning
WELCOME TO HELL
The gruesome and devastating aftermath of ISIS’ last doomed stand
The jihadis have been cleared out of their final territory but the brutal fighting has left a desolate wasteland
THE aftermath of the last stand of ISIS is laid bare in these harrowing pictures showing the bodies of its fighters among the destruction.
After intense fighting, the jihadi death cult was finally crushed in Baghouz, eastern Syria, last week, marking an end to its self-declared caliphate which at its height stretched across large swathes of Syria and Iraq.
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The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said it found a large number of booby-traps inside the village.
An SDF spokesman said Baghouz was "full of all kinds of explosives” and its forces have detonated land mines and suicide belts left behind by the militants.
The Kurdish Hawar News Agency reported that during the combing SDF forces arrested a number of militants found hiding in combat tunnels.
ISIS were holding hostages and had detained civilians, the fate of many also remains unknown.
In a series of tweets, the SDF continued "back-clearance operations" to rid Baghouz of any militants or weapon caches.
"The Syrian Democratic Forces will continue to deny Daesh a physical space and influence in the area and work to deny them the resources they need to return," it said using the Arabic acronym for IS.
"This back-clearance operation will be deliberate and thorough and help ensure the long-term security for the area."
While ISIS have lost all their territory, fears remain that they continue to pose a threat.
It was reported the jihadis are drafting up plans to use "crocodile cells" to launch new attacks across Europe after the collapse of their caliphate in Syria.
Files found on a lost hard drive reveal it is also planning to use suicide attacks, sleeper cells and assassination squads to wreck havoc across the Middle East.
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reports the details of the plans were written on a hard drive dropped by a militant in the Syrian desert last month.
The trove of information includes a letter written in January by a militant called Abu Taher al-Tajiki.
According to the paper, he was hoping to be able to present his plans to a committee sent by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Written in third person and addressed to a local ISIS leader in Syria, the letter reads like an official business proposal.
It stated: "The brother (al-Tajiki) has individuals who want to work in areas far away from the Islamic State. He has permission to be in touch with them and for them to carry out the operations.
"Before they carry out the operations, they will send us the targets if the connection is secure. Otherwise, they do the operation. And by the will of God we will meet all of their needs, for those who want it."
'CROCODILE CELLS'
A second letter by the same author added: "We send you, God protect you, our proposal, which is the establishment of crocodile cells.
"Their work will be limited to killing the enemies of God and taking their money and sending it to you — if you’d like."
Other documents found on the hard drive outline mismanagement within ISIS sectors, offer "solutions and suggestions" and detail requests for weaponry and additional suicide bombers.
The revelation comes as the terror group's caliphate - which once spread across vast swathes of Iraq and Syria - was yesterday officially declared defeated.
Theresa May was among those to hail the defeat of the group. Using the Arabic word for ISIS, the British Prime Minister tweeted: "The liberation of the last Daesh-held territory wouldn’t have been possible without the immense courage of UK military and our allies.
"We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people, our Allies and partners from the threat Daesh poses."
MOST READ IN NEWS
The fall of the last ISIS pocket in Baghouz ends the terror group's self-declared caliphate, which at its height stretched across large parts of Syria and Iraq.
The White House said the final area held by ISIS has been "eliminated" marking the end of a brutal five year reign that saw the death cult conquer huge swathes of territory.
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