Islamic State deploys car bombs in defense of last enclave

Capturing the besieged village in eastern Syria will be a milestone in international efforts to roll back the jihadists, whose self-styled "caliphate" covered roughly a third of Syria and Iraq at its height in 2014.The SDF had said it expected a "decisive battle" on Sunday after advancing gradually for 18 hours to avoid landmines sown by Islamic State (IS), whose fighters are also using underground tunnels to stage ambushes and then disappear.A Reuters witness spotted Islamic State militants ins