(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Russian-backed Syrian regime forces have captured an airbase in the eastern countryside of Aleppo province amid reports saying the Islamic State has handed over the strategic stronghold to regime, pro-government Press TV and local reporter said Thursday.
A military source said ISIS fighters had withdrawn from the small al-Jarrah military airport near Maskanah town on Thursday as regime army backed by Shiite allies launched an attack to reestablish control over it, according to Enab Baladi news site.
ISIS left about 200 Syrian fighters in the base after pulling back foreign and Arab jihadists, Zaman al-Wasl reporter said.
The regime army has made a rapid advance against ISIS in Aleppo, taking control of 19 towns and villages on the eastern and southern countryside of Aleppo, while the Turkish military and Syrian rebel groups it backs have been fighting Manbij-based militia to the west of the city.
Manbij was captured from Islamic State last year by an alliance of U.S.-backed militias including the Kurdish YPG, which Ankara views as a threat to its national security because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Meanwhile, some 130,000 people who have fled to Manbij and nearby rural areas are in dire need of international aid, the head of a Manbij civil affairs council said on Wednesday.
The displaced had mostly left areas near Manbij that were held by Islamic State in the last week, Farouk al-Mashi said, adding that their needs included food and medical aid.
"We urge the international community to take a humanitarian stand," he told Reuters by phone from Manbij.
Northern Syria has been a focal point of the Syrian war in recent weeks with most of the parties to the multi-sided conflict involved in one way or another.
Before the conflict, Manbij and its surrounding areas had a population of around 600,000.
The United States has deployed a small number of its forces in and around Manbij to ensure that the different parties in the area do not attack each other. The Manbij Military Council says the move followed Turkish threats to attack the city. (With agencies)
A military source said ISIS fighters had withdrawn from the small al-Jarrah military airport near Maskanah town on Thursday as regime army backed by Shiite allies launched an attack to reestablish control over it, according to Enab Baladi news site.
ISIS left about 200 Syrian fighters in the base after pulling back foreign and Arab jihadists, Zaman al-Wasl reporter said.
The regime army has made a rapid advance against ISIS in Aleppo, taking control of 19 towns and villages on the eastern and southern countryside of Aleppo, while the Turkish military and Syrian rebel groups it backs have been fighting Manbij-based militia to the west of the city.
Manbij was captured from Islamic State last year by an alliance of U.S.-backed militias including the Kurdish YPG, which Ankara views as a threat to its national security because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Meanwhile, some 130,000 people who have fled to Manbij and nearby rural areas are in dire need of international aid, the head of a Manbij civil affairs council said on Wednesday.
The displaced had mostly left areas near Manbij that were held by Islamic State in the last week, Farouk al-Mashi said, adding that their needs included food and medical aid.
"We urge the international community to take a humanitarian stand," he told Reuters by phone from Manbij.
Northern Syria has been a focal point of the Syrian war in recent weeks with most of the parties to the multi-sided conflict involved in one way or another.
Before the conflict, Manbij and its surrounding areas had a population of around 600,000.
The United States has deployed a small number of its forces in and around Manbij to ensure that the different parties in the area do not attack each other. The Manbij Military Council says the move followed Turkish threats to attack the city. (With agencies)
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