outskirts, the SDF further advanced into the town. SDF forces broke into the city's southern perimeter resulting in heavy street fighting. Two SDF fighters were killed by an explosive device. Al-Masdar News reported that "hundreds" of ISIL fighters still remained in the city, "with many locals volunteering to become suicide bombers". Furthermore, the number of abducted Kurdish civilians in the northern Aleppo countryside had risen to 900. On 24 June, the Manbij Silos at the southern entrance to the city, a site that had seen fierce fighting for days, were reported under control of the SDF. Furthermore, the SDF also captured the Akhdar farms south of the city as well as the local Sharia School in the western suburb, which ISIL had reportedly used as training camp for fighters. In the course of clashes on the same day in western Manbij, Turkish Alevi MLKP volunteer Sevda Çağdaş was killed while fighting ISIL. Furthermore, the YPG claimed that the Turkish Army had shelled Kurdish-held villages west of Kobanî in order to support an ISIL raid across the Euphrates; the ISIL fighters were eventually repelled. YPG forces also claimed that the Turkish Army had once again shelled their positions in the northern Kobanî Canton to support ISIL. The next day, SDF made major progress in Manbij, capturing the Al-Hawatimah and Al-Haram neighborhoods in the northern and the Al-Hawani neighborhood in the southwestern parts of the city. The SDF further claimed to have broken through the ISIL defences south of Manbij, with their main force now one kilometer away from the city's main market. On the morning of 28 June, ISIL fighters launched a counterattack from Jarablus, attempting to break through SDF defenses at the northern front. After three hours of fighting at Qirat village, the attack was repelled. Later on, SDF fighters broke into the Transportation Department in Manbij, which was cleared of ISIL combatants by midnight. The SDF also took control of some parts of the city's Hazawna district. The next day, especially heavy clashes were reported in the northern and southern parts of Manbij, with SDF fighters attempting to take control of the Al-Matahin crossroad. If they capture the crossroad, the SDF would be able to advance into the city center. Meanwhile, progress by the SDF in eastern and western Manbij was slowed by ISIL mines. The US-backed rebels have seized piles of propaganda leaflets, maps and cellphones as they