US-backed Syria fighters edge into IS border hub

US-backed fighters edged further into the Islamic State group stronghold of Manbij on Saturday, threatening a key stop on the jihadists' lifeline from Turkey to their "caliphate" in Syria and neighbouring Iraq. Thirty-one civilians were killed in three raids alone, but it was not immediately clear whether the 16 others were civilians or IS fighters, said the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman. In Manbij, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces overran a key road junction in the city's south after capturing nearby grain silos overnight.