US-backed force in Syria poised to enter Isis-held Manbij

A US-backed alliance of fighters in Syria is ready to enter the Islamic State-held city of Manbij at will but is being cautious due to the presence of civilians there, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, backed by US-led air strikes, has advanced to the outskirts of Manbij one week into a campaign aimed ultimately at dislodging Islamic State from its last foothold on the Turkish border.

“Any moment that we want to enter it, we can, but because of the presence of civilians . . . we are being cautious about entering the city,” Sharfan Darwish of the Manbij Military Council told Reuters.

“I can say that the matter of liberating Manbij is settled,” he said. “When the time comes we will enter it of course.”

The offensive includes the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, which controls wide areas of northeastern Syria, and its Arab allies. Dislodging Islamic State from the last stretch of the Syrian-Turkish frontier where it has a foothold has been a top priority of the US-led coalition fighting the group in Iraq and Syria.

“There is news about many Daesh (IS) members escaping and evacuating some areas of Manbij and booby-trapping them,” Darwish said. “Our forces are now on the outskirts of the city. The campaign continues.”

Meanwhile, air strikes on rebel-held districts of Syria’s contested city of Aleppo, including one that struck near a hospital, have killed 15 civilians and wounded many others, as fighting in the country’s largest city intensified once again, opposition activists said.