Kurdish-led forces push back Turkish-backed Syrian rebels in a tense offensive

Associated Press

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Kurdish-led fighters in Syria, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, say they have launched a counter-offensive against the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army to take back areas near Syria’s northern border with Turkey. The Kurdish-led force is Washington’s critical ally in Syria, targeting sleeper cells of the extremist Islamic State group scattered across the country’s east. Since the fall of Bashar Assad earlier this month, clashes have intensified between the U.S.-backed group and the SNA, which captured the key city of Manbij and the areas surrounding it. Ruken Jamal, spokesperson of the Women’s Protection Unit, which is under the SDF, says their fighters are just over 7 miles away from the center of Manbij.