Families of ISIS fighters to leave south Damascus in U.N. deal: monitor

BEIRUT (Reuters) -- Hundreds of families of Islamic State militants and some injured fighters are expected to leave rebel-held areas in southern Damascus under a UN-brokered deal, a monitor said on Thursday.

Rami Abdulraham , head of the UK-based Observatory for Human Rights, said safe passage would be given from the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk on the outskirts of Damascus and neighboring Hajar al Aswad.

The families and some fighters will be taken to the ultra-hardline militant group's stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria and other IS-controlled areas over several months, ultimately ending the group's presence in areas near the Syrian capital.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Catherine Evans)