SYRIAN Kurdish militia fighters were reportedly battling Islamic State (Isis) terrorists on the outskirts of Manbij near the Turkish border yesterday.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — whose backbone is the Kurdish separatist YPG — captured the Umm al-Saraj mountain overlooking the southern approaches to Manbij and were locked in combat with Isis around grain silos on the outskirts of the town.

Meanwhile, Syrian troops, backed by Russian air power, continued their advance from Ithriya in eastern Hama province towards al-Tabqa — on the road to the Isis strongold of Raqqa — for the second day.