A batch of fighters of the Islamic State group left their final stronghold in Syria’s Capital city of Damascus early on Sunday, a human rights monitor said. The evacuation of the Islamic State fighters began after the outfit reportedly agreed on a ceasefire with pro-government forces.

However, state media have denied the report and said the military was fighting to finish off the insurgents in the enclave south of Damascus, Reuters reported.

Six buses with fighters and their families on board moved out of the Islamic State-controlled Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp and neighbouring Tadamun district, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. The buses headed east towards the Syrian desert, he said.

Syrian government forces and their allies have been trying to recover the enclave since last month, when they defeated the rebels forces in Eastern Ghouta. President Bashar al-Assad has pledged he will win back “every inch” of Syria.