BEIRUT,— A U.S.-backed Kurdish-led alliance militias will reach Islamic State-held Manbij within days after advancing to within 10 km (6 miles) of the town in a major offensive against the group near the Turkish border, a Kurdish source said on Thursday.
The source said Islamic State defences stationed on the west bank of the Euphrates river had collapsed at the start of the campaign by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance this week, but it was too soon to say how the Manbij battle would go.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media. The SDF includes the powerful Kurdish YPG militia and allied small Arab groups. The SDF has over 30,000 Kurdish fighters and about 5,000 Arab fighters.
“The defences on the (river) bank collapsed but we did not yet reach the defences around the town,” said the source, noting that the presence of civilians in Manbij could be a complicating factor. “It will not be like open ground … the nature of the battle and weapons is different.”
Asked how long it would take the SDF to reach Manbij, the source said “mere days”.
Backed by U.S.-led air strikes, the SDF offensive marks an attempt to drive Islamic State from the last remaining tract of territory it holds at the border with Turkey, a top priority for the U.S.-led campaign against the jihadist group.
“There were civilians in al-Shadadi too but it fell within 48 hours,” added the source, referring to a town captured by the SDF from Islamic State in Syria in February.
The powerful Kurdish YPG forces, which the U.S. and Russia consider an ally in the fight against Islamic State, are the most effective group fighting IS in Syria, as the Kurdish militia has seized swathes of Syria from Islamic State.
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