Hundreds of civilians have reportedly escaped from a stronghold of militants besieged in northern Syria. In a blow to the self-styled Islamic State militant group, a US-backed alliance has surrounded the town and cut off a main supply route. Around 600 civilians fled Manbij on foot before being transported to safer areas, DPA reported. The US-supported Kurdish-Arab alliance, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, encircled Manbij on Friday, capturing dozens of villages near the Turkish border and severing a major supply route for IS. Tens of thousands of Syrians were still trapped in the town and that food supplies were running low. It said at least 223 IS militants and 28 SDF soldiers had been killed as well as 41 civilians, since the offensive began at the end of May. Heavy fighting was continuing to the north and west of the town on Sunday, as IS militants launched several counterattacks. Manbij has been under IS control since the group declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
