Turkey-backed rebels await 'zero hour' to attack Syria's Manbij

Turkish military vehicles ride at the Bab el-Salam border crossing between the Syrian town of Azaz and the Turkish town of Kilis, in Syria January 1, 2019. Picture taken January 1, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

JARABLUS, Syria (Reuters) - Rebel commander Adnan Abu Faisal and his army are encamped near the frontline in northern Syria, waiting to launch an offensive on his home city of Manbij.

But they are not the ones who will decide whether to march on the strategically important city, held for more than two years by Kurdish forces supported by the United States.