U.S.-backed forces cut off all routes in and out of the ISIS-held city of Manbij near the Syrian-Turkish border Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group said.
The Syria Democratic Forces, supported by U.S.-led airstrikes and U.S. special forces, seized control of the final road leading into Manbij and have encircled the city, the British-based Observatory said.
The offensive aimed at flushing ISIS out of territory it controls along the border, its only major route to the outside world, began last week.
The SDF, which includes Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters, had by Thursday advanced to within firing distance of the last main highway into Manbij.
The Observatory said the SDF effectively took control of the final road from Manbij. "There's no road left... they're all cut," its director Rami Abdulrahman said.
There was no immediate comment from the SDF.
The Observatory said nearly 160 ISIS fighters have died in battles with the SDF around Manbij. More than 20 SDF fighters have been killed, it said.
The Syria Democratic Forces, supported by U.S.-led airstrikes and U.S. special forces, seized control of the final road leading into Manbij and have encircled the city, the British-based Observatory said.
The offensive aimed at flushing ISIS out of territory it controls along the border, its only major route to the outside world, began last week.
The SDF, which includes Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters, had by Thursday advanced to within firing distance of the last main highway into Manbij.
The Observatory said the SDF effectively took control of the final road from Manbij. "There's no road left... they're all cut," its director Rami Abdulrahman said.
There was no immediate comment from the SDF.
The Observatory said nearly 160 ISIS fighters have died in battles with the SDF around Manbij. More than 20 SDF fighters have been killed, it said.
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