Turkish-backed rebels claim to have seized a city in northern Syria from US-backed Kurdish militants.

In a separate offensive to the one that saw rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) sweep south and topple the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian National Army (SNA) said it had claimed Manbij from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The loss, if confirmed, would be a significant blow for the SDF, as Manbij is its largest stronghold west of the Euphrates River. However, the SDF claimed the fighting there was still ongoing.

The Turkish-backed SNA, an umbrella term for several disparate groups, launched its “Dawn of Freedom” offensive on Dec 1.

The coalition said its intention was to restore security to the region, as the SDF is led militarily by the People’s Defence Units (YPG), which Turkey says is a terrorist organisation closely tied to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.

The PKK has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, with the role of Syria’s Kurds, who govern an autonomous region in the northeast, being a contentious topic for Ankara.

Turkey has firmly opposed any suggestion that Kurdish groups could be involved in shaping Syria’s future.