500 coalition airstrikes on Manbij in 55 days, thousands of civilians inside

[Bleipriester]

Bombing civilians into freedom is the number one US privilege that shall not be questioned. It doesn´t bear contemplating, how many oceans of crocodile tears would be shed by US government figures if this was done by the Syrian airforce. Meanwhile, the SDF is gaining the upper hand in the battle. There are reports of SDF infightings, however. Members of a SDF group were accused to have placed a bomb for ISIS. But the Kurds seem to often accuse others of ISIS compliance, so everything is unclear.

VIDEO: Manbij city in rubbles after hundreds of U.S. airstrikes

 

[Bleipriester]

Hard news from Manbij

"Over 1650 SDF combatants have been killed since the beginning of the Manbij offensive if one is to believe Amaq News.

Kurdish sources say ISIS has suffered a similar death toll.

Meanwhile, the SDF said it had successfully dismantled ‘thousands’ of mines and improvised explosives, most of which had Turkish inscriptions on them."


Islamic State turns down SDF offer to evacuate ISIS fighters from Manbij

 

[waltky]

All kinds of info in ISIS Intelligence treasure trove...

US Fighting in Syrian City Yields Trove of ISIS Intelligence
Jul 27, 2016 | WASHINGTON — The U.S. is exploiting an enormous amount of digital information about the Islamic State obtained by Syrian rebels fighting for control of the city of Manbij, a spokesman for the American-led military coalition said Wednesday.

Speaking by phone from Baghdad, Col. Christopher Garver told reporters at the Pentagon that it's unclear how this trove of intelligence might affect the direction of the war, but he suggested it has been of considerable value. "We think this is a big deal," he said. Garver also revealed that the U.S. for the first time has placed its military advisers at lower-level Iraqi army headquarters, an important decision that places the Americans closer to the front lines. The authority for that was approved by President Barack Obama in April. Prior to Obama's go-ahead, the U.S. military was not permitted to place advisers at echelons lower than division headquarters, which are farther from the front lines.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, speaking to soldiers of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, referred to the intelligence trove while describing progress in Manbij. He said that city is one of the last junctions connecting the Islamic State's self-declared capital of Raqqa, Syria, to the outside world, and called it "a key transit point" for extremists plotting international attacks. "And there, we're already beginning to gain and exploit intelligence that's helping us map their network of foreign fighters," Carter said. Garver said the intelligence has not yielded links to any of those involved in recent violent attacks in the West. "It's a lot of material. It's going to take a lot to go through, then start connecting the dots," he said.

The intelligence is on laptop computers and portable data storage devices such as thumb drives, Garver said, adding that it amounts to more than four terabytes of digital information. He said it sheds new light on how the Islamic State has used Manbij as a "strategic hub" for welcoming, training, indoctrinating and dispatching foreign fighters. Garver said a small group of U.S. combat engineers on July 20 was attached to an Iraqi army battalion to provide advice on how to secure a temporary bridge the Iraqis had installed over the Tigris River. This is aimed at connecting a newly recaptured air base near Qayara with an Iraqi-controlled base on the east side of the river. Garver said this will "greatly improve maneuverability and shorten lines of communication for the (Iraqi security forces) as they prepare for the eventual assault to liberate Mosul."

In his remarks at Fort Bragg, Carter described in broad terms the U.S.-led coalition's strategy for recapturing Mosul in northern Iraq. He said the Iraqi security forces will push from the south, along the Tigris River, and the Iraqi Kurdish militia, known as the Peshmerga, will push from the north. He was speaking to members of the 18th Airborne Corps because they are scheduled to deploy to Baghdad shortly to serve as the higher headquarters for the coalition, under Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, who will take over as the top U.S. commander there for Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland.

US Fighting in Syrian City Yields Trove of ISIS Intelligence | Military.com

See also:

US General Says Afghan ISIS Linked to Main Group
Jul 27, 2016 — The Islamic State group presence in Afghanistan is directly linked to the parent organization in Iraq and Syria, the U.S. Army general in charge of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan said on Wednesday.

Gen. John Nicholson, speaking to The Associated Press in an interview, says IS loyalists in Afghanistan have financial, communications and strategic connections with the main IS leadership based in a self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria. "This franchise of Daesh is connected to the parent organization," he said, using a common alternative acronym for the Islamic State group. "They have applied for membership, they have been accepted, they had to meet certain tests, they have been publicized in Dabiq," the IS magazine, he said. IS bases in the eastern province of Nagharhar, which borders Pakistan, are currently being targeted by an Afghan military offensive, backed by U.S. troops.

The offensive, part of the Afghan army's Operation Shafaq, began on Saturday, hours after the IS group claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in the capital Kabul that killed around 80 people. The attack targeted ethnic Hazaras, who are also Shiite Muslims — considered apostates by IS — who were demonstrating to demand that a regional electrical project to be rerouted through their province of Bamiyan to boost economic growth in the impoverished central highlands. More than 200 people were wounded in the worst attack in Kabul since the Taliban's insurgency began in 2001. It was also the first major attack in the city claimed by IS, raising concerns about their strength and capabilities in Afghanistan.

Until recently, Afghan and U.S. officials have insisted that IS loyalists were disaffected Taliban weary that their own fight had failed to make headway, after 15 years, in its goal of overthrowing the Kabul government. This week, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Army Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, said that IS operatives in Afghanistan numbered between 1,000 and 3,000 loyalists — though probably closer to 1,500. Afghan security forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, have been targeting IS in their Nangarhar holdouts for several months.

Afghan government reports on the efficacy of operations in recent months have claimed high numbers of militants killed and wounded, and put those figures in the hundreds since Saturday. The numbers cannot be independently verified. Nicholson said that the nine or 10 districts where IS had a significant presence had been reduced to three ahead of the current offensive. Now, he said, they were retreating out of the Kot valley toward the south. Once the region was cleared, he said, civilian forces such as the Afghan Local Police would move in to make sure there was no return.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Syria rebels 'cut off IS escape route'...

Syria rebels 'cut off IS escape route' through Manbij
Fri, 12 Aug 2016 - Kurdish and Arab fighters say they have liberated the north Syrian town of Manbij from so-called Islamic State, cutting off its route to Europe.

The coalition of militias fought 73 days to drive out IS and say they freed 2,000 civilians being used as human shields on the final day. IS captured Manbij, close to the Turkish border, two years ago. Roads to Syria's embattled second city, Aleppo, and to the IS capital, Raqqa, pass through the town. "After the liberation of Manbij, IS members won't be able to freely travel to and from Europe anymore," said Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) coalition includes the powerful Kurdish YPG militia. They were backed in their campaign against IS by US-led air strikes on IS positions.

A fighter helps civilians who were evacuated an Islamic State-controlled neighbourhood of Manbij, Syria​

Responding to reports of the human shields, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that IS continued to "pose a threat to the people of Syria, Iraq, the region as well as to Europe and beyond". "The recent military advances against Da'esh [IS] by the Global Coalition together with the Syrian Democratic Forces in North West Syria are welcome and the EU will continue to commit its efforts, as part of the Coalition, to its non-military fields of activity," she added.

The roads through Manbij had become crucial to the group's ability to move fighters, weapons and supplies in and out of Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict from the UK, around 500 cars left Manbij carrying IS members and civilians. They were heading north-east towards Jarablus, a town under IS control on the Turkish border.

Syria rebels 'cut off IS escape route' through Manbij - BBC News

See also:

UK teen girl who went to ISIS area of Syria reported killed
Saturday 13 August 2016 - A lawyer says one of three London schoolgirls who travelled to Islamic State-controlled area of Syria to become "jihadi brides" is believed to have been killed in an air strike.

Tasnime Akunjee told the BBC that Kadiza Sultana's family had been told that she died in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa several weeks ago. He said the death has not been confirmed. Akunjee did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press.

Sultana was 16 when she, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase - both 15 - travelled to Syria in February 2015. Sultana's family told ITV News that she had wanted to come home. Her sister, Hamila Khanom, said: "We were expecting this in a way. But at least we know she is in a better place."

UK teen girl who went to ISIS area of Syria reported killed

 

[waltky]

Manbij falls to U.S.-backed fighters...

US-backed Syrian force captures key IS stronghold of Manbij
Aug 13,`16 -- On the streets of Manbij, men chanted slogans against the Islamic State group or clipped their beards and women walked with their faces uncovered for the first time in over two-and-a-half years, hours after the militant group was pushed out of the northern Syrian city.

U.S.-backed fighters seized the key Islamic State stronghold late Friday after two months of heavy fighting that killed more than 1000 people and displaced thousands. The fighters also freed hundreds of civilians the extremists had used as human shields, Syrian Kurdish officials and an opposition activist group said. The capture of Manbij is the biggest defeat for the extremist group in Syria since July 2015, when they lost the town of Tal Abyad on the border with Turkey. The capture of Tal Abyad deprived the militant group of a direct route to bring in new foreign militants or supplies. Manbij is important because it lies on a key supply route between the Turkish border and the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the IS group's self-styled caliphate. Manbij had been under IS control since January 2014, when the extremists evicted other Syrian militant groups from the town. The Islamic State group's loss of Manbij followed two months after they lost the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

Nasser Haj Mansour, of the predominantly Kurdish Syria Democratic Forces, told The Associated Press that the town of Manbij "is under full control," adding that operations are ongoing to search for any IS militants who might have stayed behind. The SDF launched its offensive in late May to capture Manbij, and was supported by U.S.-led airstrikes. Amateur videos posted online showed that shortly after SDF fighters captured the town late Friday, scores of residents went down to celebrate in the streets. A man was filmed trimming his own beard with scissors, and then moving to clip the beard of another man on a motorbike. Women were able to uncover their faces. IS imposes a harsh and extreme version of Islam on the territory under its control, including a mandatory dress code. "May God destroy them. They slaughtered us," a young man shouted in a Manbij square. "May they not live for a minute." The videos appeared genuine and corresponded to Associated Press reporting of events.

In a photo posted online by Kurdish activists, a young woman defiantly uncovered her face while smoking a cigarette and flashing a victory sign. Under the extremists' rule, women had to wear long black cloaks that covered all but their eyes, while all adult men were forced to grow beards. Smoking was banned. Haj Mansour said some IS fighters were captured in the town while others fled to nearby villages. "Military operations will continue until these villages are clean," Haj Mansour said. Sherfan Darwish, another SDF official in Manbij, also confirmed that the town is under the full control of his fighters. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said the remaining IS fighters in Manbij left last Friday along with hundreds of civilians in some 500 vehicles heading in the direction of the city of Jarablus, on the border of Turkey.

Kurdish officials did not respond to requests for comment on whether the IS fighters were given a safe route to leave Manbij. During the offensive, the SDF had offered fighters a safe route to leave the town but they refused. The Observatory said that following the capture of Manbij, hundreds of civilians used by IS as human shields have been freed. SDF fighters had been slowly advancing on the town and nearby villages for weeks. According to the Observatory, the fighting and the airstrikes have killed 1,756 people, including 438 civilians, 299 SDF fighters and 1,019 militants since the Manbij offensive began in late May. Among those killed was the top Kurdish commander, known as Abu Layla, who died on June 5, days after sustaining wounds during the campaign. IS has suffered major defeats over the past months in Syria and Iraq, where the military recaptured the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah in the western Anbar province. However, IS still controls large parts of Syria as well as Iraq's second largest city, Mosul.

News from The Associated Press

See also:

Islamic State losses mount with liberation of Syrian town
Aug 13,`16The Islamic State group's loss of the northern Syrian town of Manbij to U.S.-backed fighters marks the latest in a string of defeats for the extremists across their self-styled caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

The strategic town, which lies on a supply route between the Turkish border and the de facto IS capital, Raqqa, fell to the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces on Friday after more than two months of heavy fighting and U.S.-led airstrikes. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the fighting claimed more than 1,700 lives, including more than 400 civilians. IS still controls large areas of Syria as well as Iraq's second largest city, Mosul. It has also claimed major terrorist attacks in recent months, including the Orlando shooting, the Nice truck attack, and a Baghdad bombing that killed some 300 people. But Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the top U.S. commander for the fight against IS, said this week that some 45,000 IS militants have been removed from the battlefield, reducing the group's total numbers to as few as 15,000. Here is a look at the IS group's recent territorial setbacks.

FALLUJAH

Iraqi forces captured Fallujah in late June after a five-week offensive. Fallujah is just an hour's drive west of Baghdad, and in early 2014 became the first Iraqi city to fall to IS. The Sunni city was an insurgent stronghold following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and more than 100 American soldiers were killed in house-by-house fighting there in 2004.

PALMYRA

Syrian government forces aided by Russian airstrikes drove IS out of Palmyra, an eastern oasis town known for its stunning Roman-era ruins, in March. During their 10-month reign, the extremists destroyed 2,000-year-old temples and other monuments in the town's UNESCO world heritage site, once one of Syria's main tourist attractions. The extremists view such ancient ruins as monuments to idolatry.

RAMADI

Iraq declared the capital of its western Anbar province "fully liberated" in February after months of fighting. As in Fallujah, Iraqi forces laid siege to the city and then gradually pushed in with the aid of heavy U.S. airstrikes. The battle to recapture Ramadi destroyed much of the city, and most of its residents have yet to return home.

SHADDADEH

 

[waltky]

Like playin' whack-a-mole...

Wild celebrations after ISIS defeated in Syrian town of Manbij
August 13, 2016 - For the first time in over two-and-a-half years, the women of Manbij, Syria walked with their faces uncovered Saturday, some of them even setting their niqabs on fire. Men shaved or trimmed their beards. Smokers of both sexes lit up and puffed away.

U.S.-backed fighters seized the key northern Syria city late Friday after two months of heavy fighting that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced thousands more. The fighters also freed hundreds of civilians the extremists had used as human shields, Syrian Kurdish officials and an opposition activist group said. Amateur videos showed civilians hugging fighters from the predominently Kurdish Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) after being evacuated from the final ISIS-held neighborhood. "May God destroy them. They slaughtered us," a young man shouted in a Manbij square. "May they not live for a minute." In a photo posted online by Kurdish activists, a young woman defiantly uncovered her face while smoking a cigarette and flashing a victory sign.

Liberation cuts off ISIS from the Turkish border​

ISIS imposes a harsh and extreme version of Islam on the territory under its control, including a mandatory dress code. Women had to wear long black cloaks that covered all but their eyes, while all adult men were forced to grow beards. Smoking was banned on penalty of fines or public flogging. The capture of Manbij is the biggest defeat for the extremist group in Syria since July 2015, when they lost the town of Tal Abyad on the border with Turkey. The capture of Tal Abyad deprived the militant group of a direct route to bring in new foreign militants or supplies. Manbij is important because it lies on a key supply route between the Turkish border and the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the ISIS group's self-styled caliphate. Manbij had been under ISIS control since January 2014, when the extremists evicted other Syrian militant groups from the town. ISIS' loss of Manbij followed two months after they lost the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

SDF spokesman Nasser Haj Mansour told The Associated Press that the town of Manbij "is under full control," adding that operations are ongoing to search for any ISIS militants who might have stayed behind. The SDF launched its offensive in late May to capture Manbij, and was supported by U.S.-led airstrikes. Haj Mansour said some ISIS fighters were captured in the town while others fled to nearby villages. "Military operations will continue until these villages are clean," Haj Mansour said. Sherfan Darwish, another SDF official in Manbij, also confirmed that the town is under the full control of his fighters.

MORE

See also:

ISIS Abducts 2,000 Civilians in North Syria
Aug 12, 2016 | Islamic State group fighters seized around 2,000 civilians to use as "human shields" Friday as they fled their stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, US-backed forces and a monitor said.

The abductions came as Russian and Syrian jets pounded rebel positions in second city Aleppo, an AFP correspondent and the Syrian Observatory for Human Right monitor said. The Arab-Kurdish alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expelled most of the IS fighters from Manbij last week, but dozens continued to put up a tough resistance.

Jihadists with the Islamic State group have established a self-declared caliphate after capturing a swathe a territory in Iraq and Syria​

On Friday they withdrew from a district in northern Manbij heading for the IS-held town of Jarabalus along the border with Turkey, taking the captives with them. "While withdrawing from a district of Manbij, Daesh (IS) jihadists abducted around 2,000 civilians from Al-Sirb neighborhood," said Sherfan Darwish, spokesman for the Manbij Military Council, a key component of the SDF. "They used these civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabulus, thus preventing us from targeting them," he said, adding that women and children were among those taken. The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on sources on the ground to cover the conflict, also reported that IS had abducted around 2,000 civilians as they fled Manbij. It said IS confiscated residents' cars, forced civilians into them and then headed for Jarabulus.

'Human shields'

The jihadists, who have suffered a string of losses in Syria and Iraq, have often staged mass kidnappings in the two countries when they come under pressure to relinquish territory they hold. In January, IS abducted more than 400 civilians, including women and children, as it overran parts of Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria. It later released around 270 of them. IS has also used civilians as human shields, booby-trapped cars and carried out suicide bombings to slow advances by their opponents and avoid coming under attack. Thousands of civilians were held captive by the group in Fallujah which Iraqi forces recaptured in June after a four-week offensive. On Friday, the SITE intelligence Group said IS had killed five men in Iraq for smuggling people out of territory it controls. It was not immediately clear how many jihadists fled Manbij which the SDF captured on August 6.

But Darwish said that SDF managed to rescue 2,500 civilians who had been held captive by IS fighters there. The US-backed forces combed Al-Sirb on Friday for any remaining jihadists, he added. With air support from the US-led coalition, the SDF began its assault on Manbij on May 31, surging into the town itself three weeks later. But their offensive was slowed by a massive jihadist fightback, before a major push last week saw the SDF seize 90 percent of the town. Tens of thousands of people lived in Manbij before the assault started in May. The United Nations has said that more than 78,000 people have been displaced since then. Manbij was a key transit point along IS's supply route from the Turkish border to Raqa, the de facto capital of its self-styled Islamic "caliphate". The Britain-based Observatory says the battle for Manbij claimed the lives of at least 437 civilians -- including 105 children -- and killed 299 SDF fighters and 1,019 jihadists.

Raids on Aleppo