Syrian rebel fighters have accused the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group of taking more than 2,000 people hostage, and using them as human shields, as they retreated from the northern city of Manbij.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance consisting of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said on Friday they were in control of most of the city, held by ISIL, also known as ISIS, since 2014.
SDF spokesperson Sharfan Darwish said in a statement released on Facebook that rebel fighters had "regained control over most of the city" while "clashes in several areas" continued as clearing operations were under way to flush out the last ISIL remnants.
"While withdrawing from a district of Manbij, Daesh jihadists abducted around 2,000 civilians from Al-Sirb neighbourhood," Darwish told the AFP news agency, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.
"They used these civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabulus, thus preventing us from targeting them," he said, adding that women and children were among those taken.
