IS 'on the ropes' in northern Syria: Pentagon

Coalition-supported local forces fighting the Islamic State group in northern Syria have recaptured large areas around the city of Manbij and put the jihadists "on the ropes," a Pentagon official said Friday. Since the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began an operation to capture Manbij on May 21, they have wrested control of more than 1,000 square kilometers (385 square miles) of territory from IS. Manbij is a key town in the anti-IS struggle because the jihadists were using it as a waypoint between the Turkish border and Raqa, the jihadists' de facto capital.