AhlulBayt News Agency - US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Friday that at least 400 militants from the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) have been killed since the start of the ongoing military campaign aimed at liberating Manbij in northern Syria from ISIS.
In the ongoing operation, launched on 31 May, the Kurdish-led SDF and allied Manbij Military Council have recaptured some 90 villages and farms in the countryside of Manbij.
“Our forces have also cut off all roads linking Manbij with other Syrian cities, imposing a complete siege on ISIS inside the city after retaking the Manbij-Aleppo road,” reported SDF official Habun Osman.
The Syrian Democratic Forces have earlier cut off the ISIS supply lines between Manbij and the cities of Raqqa and Jarablus.
On the other hand, at least 20 SDF fighters have been killed –including prominent commander Abu Layla– and more than 100 have been wounded in the Manbij campaign so far. Also, 30 civilians lost their lives during the clashes.
The SDF leadership stressed the key role of the coalition’s air cover in the Manbij campaign against ISIS.
The 98-km Manbij pocket has been for long used by ISIS as a main transit point for the movement of its terrorists across the Syrian-Turkish border.
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