The Turkish military noted that Turkish Armed Forces lost two soldiers, and three more were wounded in an attack south of Al-Bab staged.
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“There was a suicide attack which killed two of our soldiers and we have injured”, Yildirim said.
Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said that “almost all” of al-Bab had been captured on Thursday, state media agency Anadolu reported.
At least 60 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in an IS-claimed vehicle bomb attack in a rebel-held village in Syria on Friday (Feb 24).
Hundreds of civilians were also killed, including in Turkish airstrikes and shelling.
With the help of the Turkish military in the aftermath of the battle, the FSA seized the town of Dabiq, which is considered one of the most significant landmarks for Daesh, largely because of the symbolic value the town held for the group.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the victims included civilians. This was the last stronghold of the jihadist group in the area. “With al-Bab under control, the targets planned at the start of the operation have been achieved”, said Hulusi Akar, the head of Turkey’s chief of staff, according to Reuters.
Turkey is angered by the U.S. alliance with the Kurds, but analysts say the SDF is the most capable local force ready to move on the Islamic State’s key city.
Situated just north-east of Aleppo, al-Bab has about 100,000 inhabitants in the centre and about 50,000 more living in the suburbs.
Turkey launched its Syrian operation, dubbed “Operation Euphrates Shield”, in August, in effort to push IS from its border and stop the advance of a Syrian Kurdish militia groups.
“We have attacked and fully control Ghazlani base, we have also taken Tal al-Rayyan. and we’re attacking Al-Maamun neighbourhood”, said Sami al-Aridhi, a lieutenant general in Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS).
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Ankara’s military intervention in August of past year complicated its relationship with the United States, which has backed a Kurdish-led force as its main spear against the Islamic State in Syria.
