The Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by the USA, announced they had liberated the city and freed over 2,000 hostages ISIS was using as human shields.
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US-backed fighters now control a northern Syrian town that until recently was a stronghold of the Islamic State group, according to a Syrian Kurdish official.
Since the battle for Manbij began, USA -led strikes have destroyed more than 50 IS heavy weapons and more than 600 fortified fighting positions, Trowbridge said.
Manbij was a strategically important link in supply lines to Islamic State’s headquarters in Syria in Raqqa.
Manbij had been under IS control since January 2014, when the extremists evicted other Syrian militant groups from the town. Civilians poured into the streets and celebrated not being under strict Islamic control by men cutting their beards, women taking off their veils and members of both sexes smoking in public. Around three-hundred rebel fighters have been killed, along with more than a thousand jihadists.
Dozens of women in black niqabs – which are similar to burkas but leave the eye area uncovered – were photographed being freed by the armed rebels, many of them carrying babies, some overwhelmed and in tears.
Other reports say the militants are fleeing in vehicles and are keeping civilians close as a way to prevent being bombarded.
Backed by US air strikes, the Kurdish Arab Alliance has managed to push away the last ISIS militants away from the city, finally allowing its people to enjoy basic human rights that were denied them for so long.
DAESH has also used civilians as human shields, booby-trapped cars and carried out suicide bombings to slow advances by their opponents.
The SDF is “in full control” of Manbij, Nasser Haj Mansour, a fighter with the group, told The Associated Press.
It was not clear whether those leaving were hostages or had left voluntarily, a Kurdish source said.
IS fighters have left behind hundreds of mines and booby traps in the town. According to them, this was done in an attempt to avoid harming civilians being held as human shields.
The Observatory reported that 437 civilians, including more than 100 children, were killed in the battle for Manbij and surrounding territory.
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Among those killed was the top Kurdish commander, known as Abu Layla, who died on June 5, days after sustaining wounds during the campaign. Analysts said its loss is a major setback for the extremists, who have sought to establish an Islamist “caliphate” in large parts of Iraq and Syria.
