Kurdistan24 Exclusive from Manbij: Kurdish-led forces liberate another neighborhood

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Manbij Military Council (MMC) fighters advanced in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, freeing a neighborhood from the Islamic State (IS), said a SDF fighter on Monday.

The SDF and MMC continue to advance in Manbij, recently liberating Banawi neighborhood.

Both groups are now attempting to clean the area from the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) wired by IS insurgents. 

“We are in Banawi neighborhood now and have controlled the area completely,” Ali Mahmoud, an SDF fighter told Kurdistan24.

Mahmoud stated that two factors slow down the advance of their forces in the town.

“First, there are many [IS] snipers inside Manbij, who target anyone on the streets,” he continued. “Second, there are civilians trapped in the center of the town.”

Moreover, Kurdistan24 Reporter Ekrem Salih stated that recently 130 civilians found a corridor inside Manbij to escape from IS.

[Kurdistan24 reporter Ekrem Salih in the neighborhood of Banawi, Manbij town, northern Syria, July 26, 2016. (Photo: Kurdistan24)]

However, he added that some of them were critically wounded due to the IEDs planted in the area by the insurgents.

“The street fight with IS continues. At about 5:00 in the morning, our forces rescued some civilians from inside the town. We killed many IS insurgents,” Nihad Manbiji, an SDF fighter told Kurdistan24.

He pointed out that sometimes IS militants join civilians when they escape and blow themselves up whenever they reach the SDF bases.

MMC recently announced that they would open a safe corridor to rescue civilian hostages from IS inside Manbij and let the IS insurgents escape the town. IS has yet to respond.

Previously, SDF forces arrested several IS insurgents that dressed up as women, intending to escape from Manbij.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Ekrem Salih contributed to this report from Manbij)