In Syria, U.S. -backed militia with thousands of Arab and Kurdish fighters were reported to have captured villages near the strategically-important Turkish border after launching a major operation to cut off Islamic State’s last access route to the outside world.
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Last week, Syrian Democratic Forces, a US allied umbrella group that includes Kurdish and Arab fighters, launched a large scale offensive on Raqqa, an ISIS stronghold.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS had been pushed out of 16 villages near Manbij and US-led air strikes have killed 15 civilians including three children.
Predawn air strikes on Manbij by the USA -led global coalition killed 15 civilians, it also said.
A small number of US special operations forces will support the push on the ground to capture the “Manbij pocket” of territory, acting as advisers and staying back from the front lines, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military planning.
US officials told Reuters thousands of fighters, supported by a small number of USA special forces, were launching an offensive to capture the crucial swathe of northern Syria that militants have long used as a logistics base.
An American fighter, battling alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, holds a USA flag as he stands with SDF members in the northern province of Raqqa, Syria, May 27, 2016.
The officials say the incident happened well outside Raqqa city limits, but it appears U.S. Special Operations forces, working in their “advise and assist” role with Syrian rebel and Kurdish forces, are getting closer to the ISIS capital.
SDF and YPG officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Syrian Arab fighters would be the ones to stabilise and secure it once Islamic State is gone, according to the operational plans.
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 Manbij operation comes as part of a broader effort to squeeze the Islamic State in Raqqa. The going has proved tough, with Islamic State repeatedly counter attacking.
“After they take Manbij, the agreement is the YPG will not be staying”.
The U.S. military official said depriving Islamic State of the Manbij pocket would help further isolate the militants and further undermine their ability to funnel supplies to Raqqa. “So you’ll have Syrian Arabs occupying traditional Syrian Arab land”, the official said.
Asked if the problem had been discussed with the United States, Kodmani said: “It is under discussion with any country that can clarify this position, definitely”.
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The observatory and the Reuters news agency said on Tuesday that at least 23 people had been killed in Russian airstrikes in the militant-held city of Idlib, including one near a hospital.
