U.S.-backed fighters close in on Islamic State stronghold in Syria

U.S.-backed fighters on Thursday closed all major roads leading to the northern Syrian town of Manbij, a stronghold of the Islamic State group, and surrounded it from three sides, officials and Syrian opposition activists said.

The upcoming battle against the extremists for the town has forced many residents to flee; Manbij is one of the largest areas Islamic State holds in the northern province of Aleppo. It is a key waypoint on an Islamic State supply line between the Turkish border and the extremist group’s de facto capital, Raqqa. If the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces capture Manbij, it will be the extremists’ biggest defeat in Syria since government forces captured the central historic town of Palmyra in March.

The U.S. Central Command said the operation to free Manbij is part of the “moderate Syrian opposition” efforts to clear areas along the border with Turkey from Islamic State control. Members of the American and French military have been advising forces fighting Islamic State in northern Syria.

A statement by the Military Council of the City of Manbij, which is part of the Syria Democratic Forces, said Thursday that all roads from the east, north and south have been cut. The group said its forces are now close enough to target Islamic State positions inside the town, but that they are holding off storming Manbij to avoid civilian casualties.

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The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syria Democratic Forces fighters are about 875 yards from the last main road linking Manbij with the city of Aleppo, saying that the road is now closed by fire fights.

The rights group said that since of Syria Democratic Forces offensive began on May 31, 132 Islamic State fighters, 21 Syria Democratic Forces fighters and 37 civilians have been killed.

Mustafa Bali, a Syrian journalist who visited the front lines in Manbij on Thursday, told the Associated Press that the extremists don’t appear to be preparing to withdraw from Manbij as they did from other areas. He added that black clouds of smoke covered Manbij on Wednesday, as extremists set tires on fire to apparently obscure visibility inside the town and prevent airstrikes from U.S.-led coalition planes flying overhead.

“Daesh is preparing for a battle inside the city,” Bali said using an Arabic acronym to refer to Islamic State.

Syria Democratic Forces official Nasser Haj Mansour said Wednesday that approximately 15,000 civilians had fled Manbij.

The U.S. Central Command said that since the start of the offensive to liberate Manbij, the Syria Democratic Forces’ Syrian Arab Coalition has freed a total of 132 square miles from Islamic State control. It said that the Combined Joint Task Force’s Operation Inherent Resolve has conducted more than 105 strikes in support of the battle to liberate Manbij.

“The Syrian Arab Coalition is leading the operation and will be responsible for securing Manbij once it is freed,” the statement said. It was an apparent attempt to calm Arab residents of Manbij, who fear Kurdish fighters who are predominant in the SDF will also enter the town.

The statement said coalition advisers are assisting the fighters in the battles “with command and control from nodes located behind the forward line of friendly forces.”

It said the U.S.-led coalition airpower had destroyed 108 IS fighting position, 31 vehicles, 17 heavy weapons, two weapons caches and one vehicle borne improvised explosive device.

In France, an official confirmed that French special forces are offering training and giving advice to SDF fighters. The official with the French Defense Ministry said Thursday the forces are with SDF fighters who are fighting against IS.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. He did not provide other details.

In a round-table interview last week, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French forces were participating. “We are helping with arms, we are helping with aerial support, we are helping with advice,” he said.

The U.S. also has around 300 Special Forces embedded with the SDF in northern Syria.

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