Manbij has been under attack by jihadist proxy forces affiliated with Turkey since 1 September. On 5 September, four members of the Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayîş) were killed in fighting. In a large-scale attack on 1 September, four siblings aged ten, fourteen, fifteen and seventeen were killed by Turkish artillery fire. On 2 September, a 70-year-old woman was killed and other people were injured in a village on the north-western front. A commander of the Manbij Military Council, Bozan Berkel, lost his life after the detonation of a bomb placed in his car in Manbij on 6 September.

The Press Office of Manbij Military Council (MMC) released a statement providing information about the ongoing attacks in the region.

According to the MMC statement on Thursday, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra) mercenaries affiliated with the Turkish state attacked the positions of MMC fighters in the village of Arab Hassan to the north of the city.

MMC fighters responded to the attack, killing 5 members of the mercenary group and injuring 11 others in the ensuing clashes.

The statement noted that the repulsed mercenaries fled, leaving their weapons and ammunition behind.

The Turkish state has been carrying out violent attacks against Manbij, Til Temir and Ain Issa since the launch of the SDF Operation Security Reinforcement against ISIS and criminal elements in Deir ez-Zor region on 27 August.