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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| U.S.-Backed Syrian Fighters Advance on IS Bastion |
| 2016-06-06 |
| [An Nahar] U.S.-backed fighters advanced Sunday to within five kilometers (three miles) of the 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 Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group's stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, threatening a crucial supply link for the jihadists. The assault on the city by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) adds to pressure on the jihadist group in Syria, which also faces another offensive by Russian-backed regime troops in its bastion province of Raqa. Supported by air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition battling IS in Syria and Iraq, the SDF alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias has been making steady gains since launching the operation to take Manbij last week. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based monitoring group, said Sunday the SDF was "now within about five kilometres of the strategic city of Manbij." Manbij is located along a route connecting Raqa -- IS' de facto capital in Syria -- to the Turkish border, a vital conduit for supplies and imported muscle. U.S. Central Command front man Colonel Patrick Ryder said Saturday SDF fighters had seized more than 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of territory during the advance. More than 55 air strikes have been carried out since the offensive began, he said, adding that the goal was to hamper IS' ability "to move fighters, weapons, finances (and) supplies into and out of Syria and Iraq". Some 3,000 Arab fighters were taking part, backed by around 500 Kurdish militia members, he said, adding that U.S. special forces were working "at the command and control level" in the operation. - Yazidi captives freed - In the village of Halula 27 kilometers (16 miles) east of Manbij, an AFP correspondent saw several U.S. soldiers in jeeps as they assisted SDF fighters. An AFP photographer last week took several pictures of U.S. special forces in the area. Washington has said U.S. forces are advising the SDF on the ground but not taking direct part in combat. In Halula, in an area of dry hills dotted with occasional trees, the AFP news hound saw dozens of civilians who had fled areas around Manbij, including many children, most with few belongings. Sitting under a tree with her nine children, Jawaher said she was from a village near Manbij that had been under IS control. "They lived near us and we had to do what they said or they would kill our children or take our homes," she said. The United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... says at least 20,000 civilians have fled the fighting around Manbij. At least 74 people have died in fighting since the start of the offensive last Monday, including 32 civilians mainly killed in coalition air strikes, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of medics and activists to monitor the conflict. Thirty jihadists were also killed, it said, along with 12 SDF fighters. After taking the village of Khirbet al-Rus, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Manbij, the SDF rescued a group of Yazidis -- six women and 16 children -- who were being held captive by IS, the Observatory said. They were among hundreds of Yazidis taken in mid-2014 as IS carried out a brutal campaign of massacres, enslavement and rape against the Yazidi minority. The timing of the offensive -- as Syrian troops advanced into IS-held territory -- has raised suspicions that Moscow and Washington are covertly coordinating operations by their respective Syrian allies. |
| Posted by:Fred |