Syria Democratic Forces greet civilians who were evacuated from neighbourhood of Manbij.

BEIRUT: US backed forces have seized full control of the northern Syrian city of Manbij near the Turkish border after the last remaining ISIS fighters, who had been using civilians as human shields, left, a spokesman for the group said on Friday.

Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) were now sweeping the city after the departure of a last remaining group of militants who had been holed up in the city. They had freed over 2,000 civilian hostages who had been held by the terrorists, 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,” Darwish said, adding terrorist sleeper cells in the city were still a threat.

The SDF, with heavy air support from a US led coalition, said last week they had taken almost complete control of Manbij, where a small number of ISIS fighters had been holed up.

The SDF’s offensive, which began at the end of May, aims to remove ISIS from areas it controls along the Turkish border.

The Manbij operation in which US special forces have played a significant role on the ground marks the most ambitious advance by a group allied to Washington in Syria since the United States launched its military campaign against ISIS two years ago.

Manbij’s loss to the militants is a big blow as it is of strategic importance, serving as a conduit for transit of foreign terrorists and provisions coming from the Turkish border.

Earlier the alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters grouped in the SDF said on Friday’s operation was “the last operation and the last assault.”

Darwish said earlier roughly 100 ISIS fighters were left in the city centre using civilians as human shields, some of whom were killed trying to flee.

Reuters pictures showed residents being released from an ISIS held neighbourhood on Friday and being welcomed by SDF forces.

Source from : ndtv.com