Incredible pictures have captured civilians' joy after rebel fighters liberated the Syrian city of Manbij from Islamic State.

Men are seen cutting their beards and women setting fire to niqabs as they celebrate in the streets.

Islamic State imposes strict restrictions on the way people dress and how men keep their facial hair - reportedly vigorously enforced by religious police.

Image: A woman burns a niqab and a man gets his beard cut after Manbij is liberated

Other freed residents of Manbij are seen smoking cigarettes. Civilians in IS-held cities have spoken of public floggings and fines for people caught smoking.

Weeping with joy, civilians hug fighters from the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) after being evacuated from the final IS-held neighbourhood.


Image: A series of photographs from inside the newly liberated Syrian city of Manbij capture the joy of thousands of civilians evacuated by rebel fighters Image: A man gets his beard trimmed after his neighbourhood was freed by fighters from the Syria Democratic Forces Image: A woman sets fire to a niqab after she was evacuated from an IS-controlled neighbourhood of Manbij Image: A woman hugs an SDF fighter Image: Women carrying babies weep with joy Image: A woman smokes a cigarette after the liberation. Residents of IS-held cities have spoken of public floggings and fines for people caught smoking Image: Continue through for more images from Manbij /

The US-backed Arab-Kurdish alliance confirmed on Friday that Manbij was now "fully" under their control, ending a months-long battle to reclaim the city.

Meanwhile, IS has reportedly freed hundreds of civilians who were being used as human shields by its fleeing fighters.

Some civilians were able to escape while others were released, according to the SDF and Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Civilians Celebrate As City Liberated From IS

The jihadists are reported to have forced some 2,000 civilians into vehicles as they retreated. It is not clear if all those captured have been freed.

"While withdrawing from a district of Manbij, Daesh (IS) jihadists abducted around 2,000 civilians from Al-Sirb neighbourhood," Sharfan Darwish of the SDF allied Manbij Military Council said on Friday.

"They used these civilians as human shields as they withdrew to Jarabulus, thus preventing us from targeting them," he said, adding that women and children were among those taken.

The SDF captured Manbij last week, freeing thousands of captive civilians, but were battling the last remaining IS fighters holed up in the city in the days that followed.

Losing control of the city is a major blow to IS - foreign jihadists, as well as provisions, moved through the area from the Turkish border.

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Sky News correspondent Alex Rossi said Manbij had become known as "little London" due to the number of British jihadist fighters who stayed there on their way to Raqqa, IS's self-declared capital.

US officials said with Manbij under control, it paves the way for a move on Raqqa.