BEIRUT/ALEPPO: Russian and regime air strikes killed 47 people, most of them civilians, and wounded dozens more on Saturday in a militant-held town in eastern Syria, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the raids hit the town of Al-Quriyah, controlled by the militant Islamic State group in Syria’s oil-rich Deir Ezzor province.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said 31 civilians were identified among those killed, but that it was not immediately clear whether the 16 others were civilians or IS fighters.

“IS fighters have now set up a security perimeter around the residential area, where the town’s mosque is located,” said Abdel Rahman.

The Britain-based monitor — which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information — says it determines what planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.

Russian warplanes have been carrying out an air war in support of President Bashar al-Assad since September 2015.

Meanwhile, US-backed fighters edged further into the IS stronghold of Manbij on Saturday, threatening a key stop on the militants’ lifeline from Turkey to their “caliphate” in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces overran a key road junction in the city’s south after capturing nearby grain silos overnight.

“The grain silos overlook more than half of Manbij. SDF fighters can climb to the top and monitor the city,” said Abdel Rahman.

The Raqa Revolutionaries Brigades — one of the Arab components of the Kurdish-dominated alliance — also said the SDF had seized the silos and pushed into the city. The Mills Roundabout lies less than two kilometres from the city centre.

Captured by IS in 2014, Manbij was a key transit point for foreign fighters and funds, as well as a trafficking hub for oil, antiquities and other plundered goods.

If it succeeds, the offensive on Manbij — backed by intense air strikes by a US-led coalition — would mark the most significant victory against IS for the SDF.The SDF launched its offensive to take Manbij on May 31, driving across the Euphrates River from the east with military advice from some 200 US special forces troops.

IS has thrown large numbers of fighters into the battle, losing 463, according to the Observatory. The SDF has lost at least 89.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2016