International aid agencies say not enough relief is reaching the most needy in besieged cities throughout Syria [Xinhua]
A coalition of Islamist rebel groups and Kurdish forces in Syria backed by the US says it has made advances against the Islamic state near the Turkish border as Russia announces one of its soldiers died protecting an aid convoy.
Early on Sunday, the coalition – known as the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance – said it was just three kilometers from the center of Manbij, a key city used by the Islamic State as a supply hub.
The SDF, which includes the Kurdish YPG force that was behind the liberation of Kobane last year, has been steadily inching toward Manbij since the launch of their offensive in late May.
Meanwhile, Moscow said one of its soldiers in Syria succumbed to injuries sustained earlier when he stopped a suicide car bomber from reaching an aid distribution point in the city of Homs.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that Sergeant Andrey Timoshenkov fired on the vehicle which exploded short of its target.
His death brings to 11 the number of Russian military personnel who have died in the Syrian theater of operations since September 2015.
In northern Syria, Russian fighter jets, accompanied by the Syrian air force, raided Islamic State positions in Tabqa, just west of the IS self-declared capital city of Raqqa.
But on Sunday, the Russian defense ministry denied Washington’s claims that its fighter jets had bombed Islamist anti-IS rebels backed by the US in their positions near Jordan.
Russian and US military officials held a video conference earlier this weekend to discuss the military situation on the ground in Syria.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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