Airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition targeting areas in Syria controlled by the Islamic State group killed at least 15 civilians on Monday, two Syrian activist groups said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 people died in strikes on the northern Syrian town of Manbij, which is under attack by U.S.-backed Syrian fighters, and six died in a strike on the nearby village of Tokhar. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, also said 15 people, including women and children, died in Manbij.
There was no immediate comment from the coalition.
The U.S.-backed predominantly the Kurdish militias that have been trying to take control of Manbij from ISIS. The U.S.-backed fighters have surrounded Mabij and are advancing slowly into the town under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.
Kurdish militias or ISIS ?
The autonomous federation being planned by Syrian Kurdish parties and their allies is taking shape fast: a constitution should be finalised in three months, and possibly sooner, to be followed quickly by-elections, a Kurdish official said.
The political federation for northern Syria builds on three self-ruled regions carved out by the YPG since Syria descended into conflict in 2011 in an uprising to topple President Bashar al-Assad. It has already grown, expanding last year to include the town of Tel Abyad that was captured from Islamic State by the YPG in October.
In fact, Kurdish militias use US support to launch offensives against new areas under the term of fighting ISIS, while the force the Arab citizens to flee their homes, so the Kurdish militias can force control over new areas and add it to their contons.
They are accused of making ethnic crimes against Arab citizens in northern Syria.
Syrian Kurdish groups have made no secret of their aim to link up their two autonomous regions, or cantons, in northeastern Syria with one further west – Afrin. All that’s preventing them is the 80 km stretch of territory at the Turkish border held by ISIS near Manbij and further west by Turkey-backed rebel groups that are hostile to the YPG.
