US-backed rebels seize 10k+ ISIS documents outside Syrian Manbij

RT
Thu, 30 Jun 2016 23:52 UTC

The US-backed rebels have seized piles of propaganda leaflets, maps and cellphones as they push to recapture the Syrian city of Manbij. A batch of more than 10,000 documents also contains textbooks, laptops, and digital storage devices.

"Exploitation of this information is ongoing to better understand [Islamic State] networks and techniques, including the systems [used] to manage the flow of foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq," the US-led anti-ISIS campaign's spokesman, Colonel Chris Garver, said Wednesday.

Fighting alongside the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been gaining ground around ISIS-held northern Syrian city of Manbij. It is located the crucial terrorist supply route linking Turkey to Islamic State's stronghold of Raqqa,

"They've seized the entrances to an intricate tunnel complex on the southern edge, which will reduce [IS's] ability to relocate fighters inside the city," Garver said, stressing success of the SAC-led operation.

The rebels within SAC forces have managed to reinforce their presence on the southern and western approaches to the city, setting up "footholds" in the area, he added.

The SDF has been advancing towards the city's gates since launching an offensive on the city on May 31. It is supported by some of the 300 US Special Forces operators currently deployed in Syria.

Islamic State has been losing ground both in Syria and Iraq as of late. Last week it received a heavy blow from Iraqi army after they squeezed the militants from of Fallujah thus fully liberating the Iraqi city on June 26.

"Since that time we have seen rapid clearing operations within the city as [Iraq] consolidates its gains and prepares for future operations, which will include handing over the security of Fallujah to the holding force" of local police and Sunni tribal fighters, Garver said.

Comment: More information from FarsNews Agency:

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have found a series of documents in the Russian language in a newly-liberated position in Manbij in Northeastern Aleppo that prove close cooperation of the ISIL with the Turkish traders, informed sources said Wednesday.

"As soon as capturing and cleansing Manbij silos, the SDF fighter found the house of a senior Russian commander of the ISIL," the sources said, adding, "The SDF found further a series of secret documents, including bill of lading, proforma invoice and other financial documents, that show the ISIL had imported a large number of items from Turkey."

"Based on these documents, the Turkish trading company of Anvar Kargo Firma in Gaziantep was involved in exports of various kinds of goods to the ISIL-held regions in Syria," the sources went on to say.

"In the meantime, the documents show that Anvar company had been exporting its cargos to ISIL-held city of Mosul in Iraq," they further added.

The secret reports of the Turkish police indicated on Tuesday that the Al-Nusra Front and ISIL terrorists used Turkey's both legal and illegal border crossings to transfer weapons and ammunition to Syria.

"Certain elements linked to terrorists in Syria are still shipping weapons and supplying their logistics from Turkey," the Turkish-language daily, Karshi, cited a police report to the country's public prosecutor about its operations in the city of Diyarbakir.

The newspaper, meantime, said that certain communities also provided financial supports for the terrorists fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The daily also said the Al-Nusra and ISIL terrorist groups established bases in Turkey to train recruits, adding that many explosive devices were even manufactured and assembled on Turkish soils.

Russia has accepted Turkey's apology for the shoot down of her jetfighter last last November and has begun restoring relations between the two countries. Cutting off support for IS and prosecuting the companies that trade with the terror group would show that Erdogan is serious.