The US backed Syrian forces have seized full control of the northern Syrian city of Manbij near the Turkish border on Friday as the last remaining ISIS fighters, who had been using civilians as human shields fled the city. The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) are now carrying out combing operations in the city and have freed over 2,000 civilian hostages who had been held by the terrorists.
As reported by Telegraph, women ripped off their black burqas and defiantly smoked a cigarette, while the men cut their beards as they gave the peace sign after two years of being under the ISIS.
“The city is now fully under our control but we are undertaking sweeping operations,” said Sharfan Darwish of the SDF allied Manbij Military Council. He also added that terrorist sleeper cells in the city were still a threat.
The SDF, with heavy air support from a US led coalition, had been on an advance since last week and were trying their best to remove ISIS from areas it controls along the Turkish border.
This move marks the most ambitious advance by US in Syria since it launched its military campaign against ISIS two years ago. Manbij’s loss is a big one to ISIS because of its strategic importance. It serves as a pathway for transit of foreign terrorists and provisions coming from the Turkish border.
Darwish said earlier roughly 100 ISIS fighters were left in the city centre using civilians as human shields, some of whom were killed trying to flee and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors Syria’s five-year-old conflict, later said around 500 cars had left Manbij carrying ISIS members and civilians.
Dozens of civilians, including children and women from Manbij fleeing the city were killed in the air strikes and the US officials forecast an advance to militant group’s de facto capital of Raqqa in what they anticipate would be a tough battle.
