Off the wire
• Roundup: Russian experts, officials confident about China's economy, currency  • Thailand to import liquefied natural gas to meet rising demands  • German parliament approves Armenian genocide bill  • Norway deploys jets to Iceland under NATO mission  • Eurozone industrial producer prices down by 0.3 percent in April  • Heavy rain brings havoc across China  • Private sector welcomed to invest in farmland irrigation  • Globalfoundries partners with Chinese city Chongqing on chip-making JV  • Indian court convicts 24 in 2002 anti-Muslim riots case  • Spotlight: UN mulls increasing troops in Mali amid rising attacks  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S.-backed forces continue to advance toward key IS-held Syrian town

Xinhua, June 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued to advance at the outskirts of a strategic town controlled by the Islamic State (IS) group in northern Syria, near the Turkish borders, on Thursday, a monitor group reported.

The SDF, which comprises of Arab and Kurdish fighters and primarily led by the Kurdish People Protection Units (YPG), controlled several areas in the southern rim of Manbej, which constitutes a key supply route for the IS to smuggle in support of men and weapon from neighboring Turkey.

The offensive, which was launched by the SDF backed by U.S.-led airstrikes last Tuesday, killed many of the IS fighters, including 12 recently killed when the SDF advanced and captured large parts of the town of Jdaideh in southern Manbej, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observers believe that the advance of the Kurdish-led SDF along the Turkish borders have annoyed Ankara, but it was necessary to quell the momentum and support of the terror group as a step toward eradicating it from the region, particularly as the Iraqi forces are also making achievements in the battle against the terror group in Iraq's Fallujah city, in tandem with the SDF advance in Syria.

The Kurds have become in control of 400 km of the 900 km borderline between Syria and Turkey, while the IS is in control of 80 km of that borderline.

A day earlier, the Observatory said 15 civilians were killed by U.S.-led strikes on Manbej since the offensive started on Tuesday.

The SDF forces have become 15 km from the central of Manbej, according to the Observatory.

In parallel with the Manbej offensive, the SDF backed by the U.S. air cover advanced in the northern countryside of al-Raqqa, the de facto capital of the IS, as part of another offensive also recently unleashed against the terror group.

The attacks reflect the U.S. desire to weaken the IS terrorists in both Syria and Iraq, analysts here say.

On Thursday, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said the Syrian army and allied fighters unleashed a wide-scale offensive, aiming at capturing the town of Tabqa in countryside of al-Raqqa.

Even though there is no declared cooperation between the attacks by the U.S.-led forces and the Syrian government ones supported by Russia, but analysts believe Russia and the U.S. have apparently reached an agreement to weaken the IS. Endit