MOVING SCENES HAVE emerged on social media of people celebrating in the streets of the Syrian city, Manbij, after the Islamic State was pushed out of the area.
Manjib, a key Islamic State stronghold in northern Syria, was liberated after two months of heavy fighting.
The last remaining IS fighters abandoned the town, which is near the Turkish border, yesterday.
The retreat from the city which IS captured in 2014 marked the terrorist group’s worst defeat yet at the hands of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance supported by the US.
Amateur videos posted online shortly after SDF fighters captured the town show scores of residents celebrating in the streets.
Some men were seen clipping their beards with scissors while women were able to uncover their faces.
IS imposes a harsh and extreme version of Islam on the territory under its control, including a mandatory dress code.
“May God destroy them. They slaughtered us,” a young man shouted in a Manbij square. “May they not live for a minute.”
The videos appear genuine and corresponded to reporting of events, states Associated Press.
In a photo posted online by Kurdish activists, a young woman defiantly uncovered her face while smoking a cigarette and flashing a victory sign.
Under the extremists’ reign, women had to wear long black cloaks that covered all but their eyes, while all adult men were forced to grow beards. Smoking was also banned.
“The battle was very hard,” said one Kurdish source, adding that IS had laid mines in the city.
“One SDF fighter entered a house on Friday and saw a shoe placed on a Koran. When he removed it there was an explosion and he was killed,” the source said.
Around 2,000 civilians, including women and children, were taken as IS fighters fled the city.
It’s believed they were taken to ward off air strikes as they headed to the IS-held frontier town of Jarabulus, according to the SDF.
However, IS later released hundreds of civilians, but the fate of many others remains unknown today.
The liberation and celebrations in Manbij come just two days after a chlorine gas attack in the city of Allepo killed at least four people and injuring dozens more.
With reporting by AFP, additional reporting Christina Finn
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say