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Syrian Army troops block Turkish forces around Manbij
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) troops in the Manbij countryside have positioned themselves around the western and northern flanks of the city in a bid to block the Ottoman Turkish forces, a field source in Aleppo city told al-Masdar News.

According to the source, the Syrian Arab Army has been conducting daily patrols from al-Arimeh (western Manbij) to the town of Dadat (northern Manbij).

He would add that the Syrian Arab Army has no intention to enter Manbij as the city itself is currently protected by locals from the Manbij Military Council of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Despite some early reports in December claiming they entered Manbij, the Syrian Arab Army has yet to enter the city.

The primary purpose of the Syrian Arab Army’s presence around Manbij is to prevent the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels from taking the city.

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
had previously set its sights on Manbij in December, but they ultimately backed off following the U.S.’ continued presence inside the city.

Syria Bus Attack Kills One, Wounds Four in Manbij

[AnNahar] A roadside kaboom has struck a bus carrying teachers in Manbij killing one person, the latest in a spate of attacks in the northern Syrian city since mid-January, a war monitor said.

The device went kaboom! as the bus passed, killing the driver and wounding at least four others, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

Sherfan Darwish, a front man for Manbij's military council, reported on Twitter a "terrorist kaboom with an bomb against a vehicle of teachers."

Manbij is a former Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS) group stronghold that is now held by a military council affiliated to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-Arab force that is supported by a U.S.-led coalition.
Posted by: Fred 2019-02-04
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=533555