DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia captured 400 Islamic State fighters who were trying to escape the group’s last enclave in eastern Syria on Wednesday, as hundreds more jihadists surrendered, a senior SDF commander said.

The hundreds of fighters who surrendered left the area at Baghouz as part of an evacuation that also included civilians, but it was not yet clear how many militants had given themselves up, the commander said.