The Islamic State stronghold of Manbij, in northern Syria, has fallen to allied Arab and Kurdish fighters, who freed more than 2,000 hostages held by the terrorist group. A spokesman for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said they had taken over the city after the last Isis militants fled on Friday. According to the SDF and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the freed hostages had been used as “human shields”.Sharfan Darwish, of the SDF-allied Manbij military council, told Reuters: “The city is now fully under our control but we are undertaking sweeping operations.”
The Pentagon deputy press secretary Gordon Trowbridge said: “Although fighting in Manbij continues, ISIL is clearly on the ropes. It has lost the centre of Manbij, it has lost control of Manbij.”
The Arab-Kurdish alliance had expelled most of the Isis fighters from Manbij by last week but dozens continued to put up a tough resistance until Friday.