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Turkish soldiers killed fighting Daesh in Syria

The attacks at around 7.30 p.m. local time (1630GMT) on Saturday also destroyed three buildings being used by the group around Tal al-Hawa, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.

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Afrin is controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as YPG, that are allied with the United States in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.

Jarablus, which had been held by Islamic State, was the first town captured by Turkey’s army and its Syrian rebel allies in an offensive launched on August 24 that aims to sweep away jihadists and Syrian Kurdish militias from the frontier.

The new fatalities come after three Turkish soldiers were killed in a rocket attack by IS this week.

Turkey wants to establish a safe zone in the 91km area stretching from Jarablus to Azaz to the west and says it will continue with the cross-border operation until “all terrorist elements are eliminated” from the region.

Last month Turkey launched an operation inside Syria, targeting both ISIS and Kurdish rebels.

The Kurdish YPG militia is a key partner of the US-led coalition against ISIL, and has recaptured large swaths of territory in Syria from the group.

USA strategy in Syria relies on a multi-ethnic coalition of fighters called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which the US gives both material and military support.

In a televised message, Erdogan said it’s necessary to “render it unable to carry out activities in Turkey”.

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In a major blow to Takfiri groups on Thursday, Syrian soldiers liberated the militant-held district of Ramouseh, which served as a strategic corridor for the terrorists into other occupied districts of Aleppo.

6 Syrian Kurdish fighters killed by Turkey Military