About 500 people including 150 ISIS fighters left its last pocket of territory on Monday as US-backed Syrian forces edged closer to liberating every inch of the group’s “caliphate”.

The Syrian Democratic Forces surrounded ISIS but the final offensive was paused in Baghouz late on Sunday after it was found that more civilians were trapped in the eastern enclave.

“We’re slowing down the offensive in Baghouz due to a small number of civilians held as human shields by Daesh,” spokesman Mustafa Bali said.

“In order not to harm them, we are advancing slowly but we assert that the battle of Baghouz will end in a short period of time.”