‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ close in on Daesh-held town

By Adnan al-Hussein

ALEPPO, Syria (AA) - The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have advanced into northern Syria’s Daesh-held town of Manbij, according to local sources.

The SDF has captured a number of villages to the town’s southeast, the sources, who declined to be named due to security concerns, told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

As of Monday evening, the SDF had advanced to an area some 5 kilometers south of the town’s center, according to the same sources.

The SDF is a U.S.-backed coalition of armed groups led by the YPG, the armed wing of the PYD, which is the Syrian affiliate of the terrorist PKK organization.

As the SDF closes in on the city, U.S.-led coalition warplanes have continued to strike Daesh positions in the area, the sources said.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity and disproportionate force.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.