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It looks like the ISIS attempt to break the siege of Manbij has failed again. They did mount some coordinated attacks from the South, and attempted a raid on the Kurds main supply line - the M4 highway over the Euphrates River, at the Tishreen Dam. All ISIS attacks have failed.

Apparently, there is still a pocket of holdouts in the East of Manbij City, but they probably don't have long to go.

Reportedly, it was a turkey shoot for Coalition air assets North of the city, with 230 ISIS killed there in one day. When the SDF/Kurdish offensive moves back into the countryside, we will likely see faster movement and higher ISIS casualties.

The Kurds may soon close the gap from Turkey to Raqqa. If/when they do, they will be left fending off the endless waves of fresh ISIS recruits coming from Turkey, like this recent attack. There will be an issue of the sustainability of the attrition cost on the Kurds in the mid term if the situation is not resolved, but once the Kurds dig in defenses, they will be able to kill several for each they lose. I fear that a Clinton administration might withdraw the air support after the election, and let the Turks flood Jihadis endlessly.

But before the election, we can expect a continued ISIS ass-kicking party.

ISIS enclaves getting tiny in Manbij. The Eastern group is now surrounded in the Grain Silos there.

The main group made a break last night, trying to head North toward ISIS lines, reportedly with a herd of 500 human shields (likely many members of prominent families). Basically, they slipped around the front line of guys shooting at them using tunnels - but they are still in the urban area.

Crossing the open country will be a big challenge, and no one from Manbij is likely to trust ISIS to release their hostages if they are allowed to make it to their lines with them. Unless they are given free passage to release hostages, death continues to close in.