IS fighters bring hundreds of civilians up from tunnels to use as human shields in last stand

The offensive on the last enclave held by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria has been blunted by the discovery of hundreds of civilians still living there, a commander with the Kurdish-led force fighting the extremists said.

The US-backed force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched the offensive to liberate the IS-held village of Baghouz a week ago, after more than 20,000 civilians, many of them foreign wives of IS militants, were evacuated through a corridor from the area in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour.