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| A woman is shown smoking - one of many interdictions under IS (Image: Reuters) |
Residents in the northern Syrian city of Manbij have been celebrating new freedoms after being liberated from the rule of so-called Islamic State.
They have poured into the streets enjoying basic rights they had been denied for two years, including shaving off their beards and smoking.
US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters fought 73 days to drive IS out of Manbij, close to the Turkish border.
About 2,000 civilians being used as human shields were also freed.
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| This woman decided to burn her niqab to mark the end of IS rule (Reuters) |
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| Many Manbij residents shed tears of joy after being liberated (Reuters) |
Reuters news agency spoke to a resident of Manbij who described a spot where people were beheaded. "For anything or using the excuse that he did not believe [in God], they put him and cut his head off.
"It is all injustice," he said.
"I feel joy and [it is like a] dream I am dreaming. I cannot believe it, I cannot believe it. Things I saw no one saw," a woman said screaming and fainting, according to Reuters.
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| A woman from Manbij hugs a female SDF fighter after the city was liberated (Reuters) |
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| The male and female soldiers of the SDF had fought for more than two months to take the city (Reuters) |
Another woman thanked the fighters that had set them free: "You are our children, you are our heroes, you are the blood of our hearts, you are our eyes. Go out, Daesh [Arabic name for IS]!"
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