Eyewitnesses talked ... how Manbij liberation's battles carried out -1

JUMMA MOHAMMED-SHILAN MOHAMMED
MANBIJ

"It was a terrifying day" In this sentence, the general commander of Shams al-Shimal Battalions Agid Ahmed, or as he is known among his comrades Agid shams al-Shimal describes the first day of the battles between their forces and IS mercenaries within Manbij liberation campaign.

All the attention turned towards al-Halawla village, the fighters of Manbij Military Council (MMC) put military plans to enter it, and the goal is to liberate it to be the first village they enter in the framework of the campaign. Their rifles were focused on IS' positions in the village until they began to crawl towards them.

Shams al-Shimla Battalions are the most prominent military organizations within Manbij Military Council. They participated effectively during Manbij city liberation campaign with hundreds of fighters, mostly from Manbij.

The first axis of the military campaign was launched from Tishrin Dam which is more than 25 kilometers away from the center of Manbij which was the main objective of the campaign. The second axis was launched from the Qera Quzaq Bridge, 25 km east of Manbij.

Agid was at the head of a group of his comrades leading the battles in the first axis (the axis of Tishrin Dam) as about 75 fighters launched the first attack on the positions of IS in Halawla village near the Tishrin Dam.

Agid says that IS mercenaries established a strong defense line at the time, using thermal missiles because they were aware that the campaign was about to begin.

Agid added, "On the first day, a vehicle carrying our heavy machine gun and a bulldozer was hit. It was a scary day. We were 75 fighters, divided into groups of five or six persons. We said later that the fighting would stop because it was a scary day, but on the second day we continued the battles and advanced 500 meters in the same village."

Agid said, "At that time, IS mercenaries were stationed in the front villages which were adjacent to the positions of the MMC. As Ageid said, the mercenaries used thermal missiles to paralyze the cars and armored vehicles of the council which is trying to advance at their expense."

The fighters of the council have remained fighting in al-Halawla village for three days until they were able, with the help of the International Alliance’s warplanes, to liberate the village and move towards a small village adjacent to it called Al Aloush village.

Agid Shams al-Shimal says that the villages that were behind the front line of the IS mercenaries have been falling down in a continuous and daily way reaching the village where the commander of Shams al-Shimal Faisal Abu Laila was martyred.

The martyrdom of Abu Laila, one of the most prominent military commanders in the campaign

The fighting intensified gradually until the fighters of the MMC have accelerated the process of advancing and liberating the villages which have been freed one by one every day reaching the village of Jab al-Khafi near Abu Qalqel town.

When the fighters liberated the village, they were ambushed. They were five people, fighters of Shams al-Shimal Battalions and others from the People's Protection Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ). They entered the village on the basis that the village was empty, but when the border gate was opened, more than 50 IS mercenaries entered, surrounded and besieged them. Abu Laila was prevented from fighting because of his recent surgical operation, but when he heard that his comrades had been trapped, he did not control himself and went to help them despite of the comrades’ attempts to prevent him.

 In the village, the IS mercenaries resorted to hiding themselves among the civilians as the fighting intensified to the level of descripting it as the violent. 3 days had passed the campaign that launched on June 1, in which the general commander of Shams al-Shimal Battalion Faisal Abu Laila wounded.

Some of the fighters who were rescued by Abu Laila from the ambush tell how the commander dealt blows to the house where 50 IS mercenaries were inside with heavy weapons and Dushka, and how no one could come out, but the house was burned with them.

When Abu Laila returned to the point where he started, he was targeted by a thermal missile. He then sat among his comrades. He was seriously wounded and taken to a hospital in al-Suleimaniya city in Başûr (South Kurdistan), but he was martyred two days later and bid farewell in Kobanî city.

The battles are stronger

Agid Shams al-Shimal says that IS expected that as a result of the martyrdom of one of our campaign's commander, the morale of our fighters would collapse, but the opposite happened.

When we heard the news of the martyrdom of Abu Leila, a large number of the people of Manbij joined our forces and the progress has become abnormal.

Although IS was hitting the same way and the rockets were the same, the comrades have advanced more quickly and liberated a village every day.

On the same day when Abu Laila was martyred, the fighters of MMC liberated the strategic Abu Qalqel town which located 15 kilometers south of Manbij and continued to advance towards Manbij city from the south.

In the meantime, the axis of Qera Qusaq village, the second axis of the campaign, was moving east and north of Manbij city and liberating the villages in parallel with the first axis.

Besieging the city and liberating the villages

According to the military plan set up by MMC in coordination with the SDF and the International Alliance, Manbij city had to be surrounded from all four sides before the start of the city's battle which was expected to be fierce.

Therefore, the two axes began to work according to the plan. The first axis that started from Tishrin Dam liberated the southern villages and continued to progress in parallel with the southern boundary of the city to the west reaching the junction of al-Awsajli village.

In the meantime, the fighters of SDF advanced from the axis of Qera Qusaq and liberated the northern villages adjacent to the Sajor River and arrived at the intersection of al-Awsajli to meet the forces of the second axis, and the siege was imposed on IS in Manbij city and a number of its surrounding villages.

After the fighting two axes met each other, the fighters liberated the rest of the besieged villages with the city in preparation to begin the battle of the city which the fighters had reached its borders from all directions and sides.

To be Continued ... Tomorrow talk about the battles inside the Manbij city.

A.H

ANHA