it was reported that before their withdrawal from the countryside of Manbij, ISIL militants broke into civilians' houses in dozens of villages, killing the men and raping the women. By 14 June, the SDF had captured 105 villages and farms, while intense airstrikes targeted the northern and eastern vicinity, and outskirts of Manbij city, to prepare for the eventual assault on the city. Following a report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Syrian government "strongly condemned" the presence of French and German special forces on Syrian territory. While France's defense minister had previously announced its special forces would help the SDF advance towards Manbij, a German Foreign Office spokesman declared the accusation to be "false", stating that there were no German special forces. According to sources given to journalist Vincent Nouzille, French Special Forces alongside operators from the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) were particularly involved in the fighting, with "dozens" of ground operations in the area. Former French President François Hollande would later admit in an interview that "the defense council showed a willingness on the part of the general staff to take on more and more special operations and those of the DGSE to continue its very military actions." On 15 June, ISIL launched another breakout attempt from Manbij city, reportedly recapturing two nearby villages. The next day, SDF forces were not only able to reverse the recent ISIL gains, but also captured two more villages near Manbij, Tal Rafi'i and Yaleeni, after hard fighting with ISIL defenders. SDF troops also advanced into Manbij, capturing the city's Hatabat district. In course of the fighting, ISIL's local Hisba police chief, Abu al-Hayjaa, was killed by SDF fighters. On 17 June, heavy clashes were reported at the western entrance of Manbij, while SDF forces continued to advance against the remaining ISIL-held villages at the city's outskirts. SDF commanders claimed that some ISIL fighters disguised themselves as women in an attempt to flee the encircled city. Later on the same day, SDF forces entered the western part of Manbij city, killing over 26 ISIL militants. By this point, several Arab tribes of the Shahba region had also joined the SDF after a secret meeting. Battle in Manbij's outskirts On 18 June, SDF forces reached the western entrance of Manbij, two kilometers from the city center, in the process inflicting heavy casualties on ISIL, including two killed senior commanders. By