Convoy of buses and ambulances prepare to evacuate Islamic State (IS) militants and their families from Qara in western Qalamoun region toward the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, Syria, on Aug. 28, 2017. Around 600 Islamic State (IS) militants and their families are set to evacuate their last stronghold in western Qalamoun region toward the eastern city of Bukamal on Monday, a military source told Xinhua. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
QARA, Syria, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Around 600 Islamic State (IS) militants and their families are set to evacuate their last stronghold in western Qalamoun region toward the eastern city of Bukamal on Monday, a military source told Xinhua.
About 250 IS militants are among those who will evacuate as the rest of the number is their family members, the source told Xinhua in the barrens of Qara in Qalamoun where the evacuation will take place.
A convoy of buses is on standby in the badland of Qara as well as Syrian Arab Red Crescent ambulances.
The source told Xinhua that the evacuation will take place on Monday and the operation could last the whole day long.
This instance marked the first time IS militants fully evacuate an area which they control under a deal and in buses provided by the government.
The al-Qaida linked Nusra Front and other rebels were evacuated from several areas recently in what was seen as a view of weakness and surrender.
And it's the first instance where the Hezbollah fighters will be escorting the convoy through the desert to Bukamal, a city held by IS in Deir al-Zour province, which is expected to be the next target of the Syrian army and Hezbollah.
The evacuation comes after the IS militants were cornered in the barrens of Qara as a result of a wide-scale offensive launched 10 days ago by the Hezbollah fighters and the Syrian army against the terror-designated group in Qalamoun near the Lebanese territories.
After the recent progress against IS, the terror group surrendered in Qalamoun and demanded to be evacuated to the city of Bukamal.
In return, the terror group divulged the fate of Lebanese soldiers kidnapped in 2014. Unfortunately, it turned out that the Lebanese soldiers had been killed by IS.
The agreement of the evacuation was reached between Hezbollah and IS and agreed upon by the Syrian army.
The Syrian army said in a statement that it accepts the deal to save the blood of the soldiers after the surrender of IS.
