BREAKING NEWS

US-backed force says Islamic State fleeing Syrian city

BEIRUT - Islamic State fighters have been leaving the Syrian city of Manbij with their families as US-backed groups advance to within 6 km (4 miles) in an attack that has killed more than 150 jihadists, a spokesman for the US-backed forces said on Monday.
Sharfan Darwish, spokesman for the Manbij Military Council, told Reuters more than 50 of their bodies were in the possession of the US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) that is leading the campaign that got under way last week.
He said there were a number of dead among the US-backed forces and the number would be announced later.
"There are many, many homes in Manbij that Daesh (Islamic State) had seized and were living in that are now empty. They took everything they could and left the city," Darwish said, citing reports from the city.