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"At staging areas on the outskirts of the northeast Syrian village of Baghuz, the exodus before the end looked more like an exodus without end."

"Two influential members of the United States Senate have introduced legislation that would end the nearly two-decade long war in Afghanistan. The move comes at a time when U.S. officials are engaged in direct talks with Taliban insurgents to negotiate a draw-down plan and counterterrorism guarantees."

"With a harsh crackdown, Bashar al-Assad’s regime helped turn a protest movement into a civil war."

"In eastern Syria, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say Islamic State is trying to slow the attack on the terror group's last scrap of territory in the town of Baghuz by using snipers, suicide bombers and civilians as human shields."

"U.S.-backed forces in Syria are holding more than 2,000 suspected Islamic State fighters, U.S. defense officials said, at least double previous estimates and an obstacle to Trump administration plans to withdraw American forces from Syria."

"The National Security Agency has halted a counterterrorism program that relied on U.S. telecom carriers to turn over records of domestic calls and text messages so analysts could scrutinize them for clues, according to individuals familiar with the matter and a senior GOP congressional aide."

"Hundreds of Islamic State fighters and family members fled the northeastern Syrian village of Baghuz, taking advantage of a pause in ferocious fighting with the U.S.-backed forces that have surrounded the last patch of the terror group's self-declared caliphate."

"The final battle to end ISIS's caliphate is now underway as US-backed forces push into the group's last stronghold in Syria. But the predicted victory may be short-lived for Western countries, which will be forced to confront the problem of what to do with their citizens who went to Syria or Iraq to join the militant group."

Continue on for the latest revision. Includes War on the Rocks and Small Wars Journal.

"Columns of black smoke billowed from the last small piece of territory held by Islamic State militants on Sunday as U.S.-backed fighters pounded the area with artillery fire and occasional airstrikes."

"White House national security adviser John Bolton was detailing the U.S. government’s hard line against the government of 'dictator' Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela on Sunday morning when CNN’s Jake Tapper posed a tough question: How can President Trump oppose Maduro when he has close ties to authoritarian governments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates?"

"Opposition leader Juan Guaidó returned to Venezuela on Monday after he defied a court-ordered travel ban last month by leaving the country, testing an authoritarian government that has threatened to arrest him."

The National editorial - "The group still poses a threat and leaves a brutal legacy to the territory it once dominated."

"The chief of Russia’s armed forces endorsed on Saturday the kind of tactics used by his country to intervene abroad, repeating a philosophy of so-called hybrid war that has earned him notoriety in the West, especially among American officials who have accused Russia of election meddling in 2016."

"In North Africa and the Middle East, conditions for upheaval remain, but the contexts vary."

"The United States and its allies are not winning the counterterrorism war for the Sahel, the head of U.S. special operations forces in Africa told VOA Thursday."

"The ground assault into the last area held by the Islamic State group intensified Saturday as U.S.-backed Syrian fighters made “remarkable progress” amid heavy clashes, including the capture of a hill overlooking a tent encampment for the extremists, officials with the Kurdish-led forces said."

"Iranian military advisers in Syria are reportedly forming a new militia in the country under their supervision with the aim of boosting an Iranian agenda in the region, a rights group said in a recent report."

"The U.S. and South Korea announced late Saturday the two countries will end annual large-scale joint military exercises as part of diplomatic efforts to “achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” In a statement, the Pentagon said acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and South Korea Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo in a phone call Saturday decided to end the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle series of exercises."

"A U.S. government decision this month to deny an American-born Islamic State bride's request to return home has renewed debate over the fate of American citizens who have traveled to join IS in Iraq and Syria, with some experts saying the case could set a precedent for preventing U.S. citizens who joined jihadists from returning home.

"Pakistan confirmed Saturday that two of its soldiers have been killed in ongoing military skirmishes with India across the disputed Kashmir border, known as the Line of Control (LoC)."

"Two years ago, American Marines battled Al Qaeda militants in western Tunisia along the border with Algeria. A Marine and a Tunisian soldier were wounded and two other Marines were later commended for their valor in the gunfight. Yet many details of the February 2017 clash remain murky."

"The Taliban is hoping ongoing negotiations with the United States will lead to the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, allowing Afghans themselves to peacefully negotiate an end to years of hostilities, a senior member of the group says."

"U.S.-backed Syrian forces on Friday resumed military operations to liberate the last piece of territory held by the Islamic state group in Syria after evacuating thousands of civilians and hostages who have been besieged inside, a spokesman said."

"Afghan forces repelled a Taliban attack at deadly cost after the militants assaulted a large military base in the southern province of Helmand late on February 28."