British fighters are among hundreds of Islamic State jihadists who surrendered to Western-backed forces in eastern Syria, a senior commander has said.

Some 400-500 people, including Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) fighters left the village of Baghuz on Monday, in the latest sign that fanatical resistance inside the terror group's last village is crumbling.

“There are different nationalities: Iraqi, French, Russian, English. I don’t have the exact number at this moment, but they are all fighters,” Adnam Afrin, the commander of Syrian Democratic Forces in the area, told the Telegraph.

“Usually we don’t like it when Isil surprises us, but this surprise is a good one,” he told the Telegraph, referring to the unexpected number of prisoners.

The surrenders came after the SDF called a ceasefire to allow non-combatants and fighters wishing to surrender to leave. Mr Afrin said the battle was not over and that the assault would shortly resume against the remaining terrorists.