The homecomers’ joy and jubilation was shared by the US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), who have liberated the city near the Turkish border and are now in full control.
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“Their spirits have been broken”, he said.
In this photo released on Monday, Aug. 8, 2016 by Hawar news, the news agency for the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas in Syria (ANHA), shows the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces raise their flag in the center of the town of Manbij after driving Islamic State militants out of the area, in Aleppo province, Syria.
Another woman thanked the fighters that had set them free: “You are our children, you are our heroes, you are the blood of our hearts, you are our eyes”.
A Syrian woman has celebrated the liberation of her town from ISIS militants by tearing off her burqas and burning it. The correspondent said people had been out on the streets to stock up on supplies after weeks of shortages caused by a punishing government siege. This comes after Syrian regime forces regained control of the ancient city of Palmyra from the militants in March.
In Iraq the organization has lost Tikrit, Beiji, Mt. Sinjar, Sinjar, Diyala, Ramadi and Falluja among other cities.
The chief of the United States mission to fight the Islamic State, Brett McGurk, confirmed on Twitter that the city center had been liberated, adding that terror group was losing ground in its Libyan stronghold of Sirte. And in July, the Iraqi military recaptured from the Islamic State the strategic Qayyarah Air Base, about 35 miles south of Mosul.
IS has also booby-trapped cars and carried out suicide bombings to slow advances by its opponents.
Already, there has been a surge in attacks-either claimed or inspired by Islamic State-in several countries that are part of the USA -led worldwide coalition fighting the extremist group in the Middle East.
The loss of the town is a major blow to the Islamic State because the group’s supply route from Raqqa, its de facto capital, and Turkey, is essentially cut off. Gordon Trowbridge, the Pentagon deputy spokesman, called Manbij’s loss “a major setback for” ISIS.
The Arab-Kurdish alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expelled most of the DAESH militants from Manbij last week, but dozens continued to put up tough resistance.
The capture of Manbij bolsters the position of Kurds who already control an uninterrupted 400 km stretch of Syria’s northern border with Turkey. They were heading northeast towards Jarablus, a town under DAESH control on the Turkish border.
These civilians were among the most jubilant after returning to the city, Mr. Araj said.
“That’s why we announced the founding of the military council of al-Bab and its countryside”, the organization said. “When he removed it there was an explosion and he was killed”, this source said.
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Raja Abdulrahim contributed to this article.
