HALULA, Syria—US-backed fighters advanced Sunday to within five kilometers of the Islamic State group’s stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, threatening a crucial jihadist supply line.
The assault by the Syrian Democratic Forces adds to the pressure on IS as it faces another offensive by Russian-backed regime troops in its bastion province of Raqa and in Iraq.
Supported by air strikes by the US-led coalition, the SDF alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias has made steady gains since launching the operation against Manbij last week.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Sunday the SDF was “now within about five kilometers” of the stronghold.
The town is on a route connecting Raqa to the Turkish border, a vital conduit for supplies and foreign fighters.
US Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder said Saturday SDF fighters had seized more than 100 square kilometers of territory during the advance.
More than 55 air strikes have been carried out since the start of the offensive, hampering IS’s ability “to move fighters, weapons, finances (and) supplies into and out of Syria and Iraq”, he said.
Some 3,000 Arab fighters were taking part in the Manbij operation, backed by around 500 Kurdish militia members, said Brett McGurk, US President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the international coalition fighting IS.
In the village of Halula just east of Manbij, an AFP correspondent saw several US soldiers in jeeps as they assisted SDF fighters.
Washington has said US forces are advising the SDF on the ground but not taking direct part in combat.
In Halula, the AFP reporter saw dozens of civilians who had fled areas around Manbij, including many children, most with few belongings.
“They lived near us and we had to do what they said or they would kill our children or take our homes,” mother of nine Jawaher said of IS.
The United Nations says that at least 20,000 civilians have fled the fighting around Manbij.
At least 74 people have died in fighting since the offensive began last Monday, including 32 civilians mainly killed in coalition air strikes, said the Observatory.