on 3 and early 4 July had been repelled, although the SDF also had reportedly made no to little progress in Manbij over the preceding ten days. On 4 July, however, SOHR claimed that the ISIL attacks of the previous day had actually succeeded in capturing some territory from the SDF, but that these gains remained strategically insignificant, as the ISIL had been unable to open a corridor to its besieged forces in Manbij. Farsnews further reported that the SDF had recaptured most of the lost villages. Furthermore, a SDF commander claimed that the failed ISIL counter-attacks showed the group's desperation to save their trapped fighters in Manbij, whose situation became increasingly dire. The next day, ISIL released footage that showed the brother of Abu Layla, Yousif Abdo Sa'don, as their prisoner. In the video, the tortured Yousif claimed to have worked as internal security officer for the Northern Sun Battalion, and that the SDF had suffered high casualties in the battle for Manbij. Kurdish sources confirmed that Yousif had been detained by ISIL, though hinted that he was only a civilian. Meanwhile, in an effort to tip the balance in the fierce fight to free the city from ISIL, SDF forces in Manbij had called in reinforcements from Kobani, Al-Hasakah and Qamishli. In the night of 5–6 July, ISIL forces in Manbij launched a counter-attack to an attempt to recapture the Al-Sherîa junction. After heavy, hour-long fighting, the assault was repelled by SDF fighters. SOHR also reported heavy clashes in Mankubah village at the outskirts of Manbij, as ISIL launched a major attempt to break through the SDF siege. The assault was eventually repelled; nevertheless, the recent ISIL counter-attacks had led to a stalemate in Manbij, with the SDF unable to significantly advance further into the city. Battle for Manbij's west and the city center By 7 July, the SDF had further advanced into the city, coming within 1 km of the city center and capturing the southwestern neighborhoods of the city. On 9 July, heavy clashes continued in Manbij city, especially in the al-Hezwania neighborhood, of which the SDF had reportedly captured 85%. In course of the fighting in Manbij on that day, Abu Khalid al-Tunisi, the ISIL emir of Manbij, was killed. He was subsequently replaced by Abu Omaar al-Muhajiri as leading local commander. On 10 and 11 July, heavy fighting between SDF and ISIL fighters took