Reports from Syria say thousands of US-backed fighters have launched an offensive to retake a crucial swathe of land near the Turkish border from ISIL.
Advertisement
This zone is critical to the militants as a transport and logistics base, because Manbij Pocket is an entrance and exit for foreign fighters from and to Europe.
The Anadolu Agency, citing military officials, said Wednesday that the strikes by U.S.-led coalition jets targeted IS positions north of the city of Aleppo, destroying a tank, two mortar positions, a headquarters’ building and three vehicles.
The assault is being carried out by an alliance known as the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), which is composed of a powerful Kurdish militia called the YPG, and Arab combatants that have allied themselves with it. The group, set up previous year, is the main ground force to receive US backing in Syria, where Washington opposes Assad’s government and has had difficulty finding capable allies on the ground in the past.
At least 74 people have died in the fighting since the start of the offensive last Monday, including 32 civilians mainly killed as a result of coalition air strikes, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of medics and activists to monitor the conflict.
A fighter from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), holds her weapon in Fatisah, Raqqah Province, May 25, 2016.
Turkish military sources said Turkey had shelled Islamic State positions across the border at Azaz, west of where the advance was taking place, killing five militants.
The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria is trying to strangle it by cutting off a key supply route from Turkey.
Mohannad al-Assadi, an official with the Syrian Red Crescent, which helped coordinate the convoy, says it brought baby formula but no adult food.
Turkey claims the PYD is linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and wants its US ally to cease cooperating with it, but Washington has not signaled that it will end cooperation with the group in the fight against ISIL.
Syrian Kurds will play an auxiliary role in the anti-Daesh operation in the city of Manbij by providing logistical support to Arab troops, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday, citing U.S. intelligence.
The SDF announced an offensive against Isis territories in nearby Raqqa province last week but has so far pushed west rather than south, where the group’s de-facto capital lies.
Advertisement
She said the concerns included “how they are viewed by the local population, what they stand for politically, and also because they have so far attacked some of the Free Syrian Army groups and the areas under their control”. State media said the army had made territorial gains and inflicted heavy casualties. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and Turkey. Islamic State fighters have used the northern Syrian city of Manbij as a base to hatch plots against Europe, Turkey and the United States.
