IS Snipers, Car Bombs Await U.S.-Backed Fighters in Syria's Manbij

[TomSea]

IS Snipers, Car Bombs Await U.S.-Backed Fighters in Syria's Manbij

As a knot of U.S.-backed Syrian fighters advanced gingerly into the Islamic State group bastion of Manbij, the crack of a jihadist sniper round forced them to take cover behind a bullet-riddled wall.

One crouching fighter identified the source and shouted directions into a walkie-talkie. Immediately, his colleagues fired a barrage of bullets at the shooter from behind the wall.

Backed by US-led coalition warplanes, the Syrian Democratic Forces -- an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters -- broke into western districts of Manbij on Thursday.

A unit of SDF fighters piled into a camouflaged, armored vehicle they nicknamed Scorpion and drove past a blue English-language sign at city limits announcing: "Welcome to Manbij."

Nearby, a large stone plaque erected by IS after its capture of the city in 2014 promised residents: "In the land of the Islamic State, you, your money, your religion and your honor are safe."

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At least 200 U.S. special operations forces, as well as French special forces, are supporting the operation in an advisory capacity.