Most recently, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have seized 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) of territory to the northeast of the northern city of Manbij plus six kilometers (3.73 miles) to the south, the Pentagon said Thursday. Civilians in the city and surrounding countryside were fleeing the fighting, the Observatory added.
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The seizure of the junction, which leads to Raqqa city, Islamic State’s de facto capital and also to Tabqa, another city it controls, came as part of a week-old Syrian government offensive against the jihadists, backed by Russian air power. In a sign of the town’s perceived significance, the SDF’s advances were accompanied by intense airstrikes from the US -led coalition battling the IS militants. The airstrikes recalled the battle for the Kurdish town of Kobani in northern Syria.
It marks the most ambitious advance by a group allied to Washington in Syria since the United States launched its military campaign against Islamic State two years ago.
Mustafa Bali, a Syrian journalist who visited the front lines in Manbij on Thursday, said the extremists don’t appear to be preparing to withdraw from Manbij as they had from other areas. He added that on Wednesday black clouds covered Manbij, as extremists set tires on fire to apparently obscure visibility inside the town and prevent airstrikes from US -led coalition planes flying overhead.
Toner reiterated Washington’s steadfast “support for the Iraqi people in their fight against Daesh”, referring to IS by its Arabic language acronym.
The Observatory said the SDF effectively took control of the final road from Manbij.
The group says they are now close enough to target IS inside the town but they are holding off storming Manbij to avoid civilian casualties.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said SDF fighters are about a half-mile from the last main road linking Manbij with the city of Aleppo. It said more than 130 Islamic State militants had died since the Manbij offensive was launched, as well as more than 20 SDF fighters.
French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a French television channel Friday that France was supplying arms and providing aerial support as well as offering tactical advice, but didn’t mention a special forces deployment. “It’s the usual support – it’s advisory”, a French defense ministry official told AFP. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly.
US-led coalition air strikes supporting the assault by Kurdish and Arab fighters, launched on 31 May, have also left 30 civilians dead, according to reports.
Islamic State has also lost territory in recent weeks to Kurds in northern Iraq and anti-Assad rebels in Syria as its disparate enemies attack on a number of fronts. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that while the time is not yet right for new peace talks on the Syrian civil war, the failure to reach an agreement soon will probably mean an escalation in the conflict, Ban stressed the urgency of an early August deadline set by the US and Russian Federation, co-chairs of the International Syria Support group, for “at least the beginnings of a serious agreement”.
The loss of Manbij will be a huge loss to the group. The city is on a highway connecting Raqqa to ISIS’ possessions in Aleppo Province, making it strategically valuable. The militant group fired back with mortars and rockets.
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In Iraq, Islamic State claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings that killed at least 24 people in Baghdad on Thursday.
