The Kurdish-led force battling the remnants of the Islamic State group in eastern Syria said Monday it captured five foreign jihadists, including two US citizens. The two Americans, two Pakistanis and an Irishman were part of a cell planning an attack on civilians fleeing the jihadist group's last bastion, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said.

The SDF has spearheaded the battle against IS in eastern Syria and is close to flushing out the jihadists from their last pocket near the Iraqi border. The force, which receives key support in the air and on the ground from the US military, said in a statement that the jihadists were captured on December 30.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019