SDF 'allowed' Daesh to flee Syrian city for $200 a head

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

Daesh bought free passage through Syrian territory controlled by the PKK/PYD terror group for as little as $200, local media reported Monday.

The Times newspaper said 2,000 Daesh terrorists escaped Manbij in Syria's Aleppo province when it was taken by the PKK/PYD in August last year.

In an interview, Talal Silo -- a former commander and spokesman of the SDF, the U.S.-backed group that is largely controlled and manned by the PKK/PYD -- said Daesh terrorists bought documents from the SDF allowing them to escape.

Even high-profile Daesh commanders, or emirs, were able to purchase the papers for a few thousand dollars, Silo told the newspaper.

Silo defected from the SDF last month and is currently in Turkey.

"Around 2,000 militants ran away from Manbij," he told The Times. "I was there when they left. They were able to get papers from SDF commanders."

Earlier this month, Silo told Anadolu Agency that the SDF-dominated Manbij Military Council, set up when the city was taken from Daesh, allowed 2,000 Daesh terrorists to leave the city.

Other deals

The SDF and the U.S. provided "security" as they headed towards Jarablus on the Turkish border, he said.

Silo also revealed that a similar deal was brokered in Al Tabqah on the Euphrates River.

His defection and revelations came after the BBC reported last month that the SDF and U.S. allowed 250 terrorists and 3,500 of their family members to flee Raqqah on Oct. 12.

The Times report said Manbij was known as "Little Britain" because of the high number of British recruits.

Citing the U.S.-based Soufan Center, the newspaper said around 35,000 Daesh terrorists, including 400 Brits, remained unaccounted for.

The Times also said that Turkish security forces had "reported a steep rise" in the number of Daesh suspects trying to cross the border.

The U.S. use of the PKK/PYD in Syria has been a long-standing complaint for Turkey, which has been subjected to a decades-long terror campaign by the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, EU and the U.S.

The PKK/PYD, also known as the YPG, is the Syrian wing of the PKK and has received U.S. support in the form of special forces back-up, air power and military supplies.