Islamic State fighters 'kidnap 2,000 civilians and use them as human shields'

Retreating jihadi soldiers grabbed them as they fled the ISIS stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, snatching local residents and driving them away in a convoy of hundreds of cars

Fighters with Islamic State have snatched 2,000 civilians and used them as human shields, according to reports.

Retreating jihadi soldiers grabbed them as they fled the ISIS stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria, snatching local residents and driving them away in a convoy of hundreds of cars.

Sherfan Darwish, a spokesman for the Manbij Military Council told Agence France Presse : "While withdrawing from a district of Manbij, Daesh (IS) jihadists abducted around 2,000 civilians from Al-Sirb neighbourhood." 

Women carry newborn babies after they were evacuated by the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters from an Islamic State-controlled neighbourhood of Manbij (Photo: Reuters)

A Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter comforts a civilian (Photo: Reuters)

"They used these civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabulus, thus preventing us from targeting them," he added.

The district of Al-Sirb in northern Manbij leads to the ISIS -held border town of Jarabulus in Aleppo province near the border with Turkey. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed the reports through its own sources.
Those taken by the terror group are understood to have been local residents.

Last week, an Arab-Kurdish alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) managed to push most ISIS fighters out of the town, however small pockets of the extremists are thought to have avoided the group. 

A woman embraces a Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter

Mr Darwish said another 2,500 civilians that were being held captive had been saved by the SDP.
Now the US-backed forces are combing the region to try to root out any remaining jihadists.

The original assault began at the end of May but ISIS then launched a counter offensive using suicide and car bombs before last week's major offensive that helped the SDF capture 90 per cent of the town.

A Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter rushes to help civilians (Photo: Reuters)

More than 78,000 people who had been living in the town have been made refugees, according to the United Nations, which also said 437 civilians had been killed in the recent assault.

That included 105 children with another 299 SDF fighters and 1,019 jihadists killed.

Source: Mirror