Turkey, Syria opposition kill 68 Daesh fighters near Al-Bab

Syrian rebels backed by Turkish warplanes killed 68 Daesh militants in northern Syria overnight, the Turkish military said today, as intense fighting around the town of Al-Bab continued.

Rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to the Daesh-held town for weeks under the “Euphrates Shield” operation launched by Turkey nearly four months ago to sweep the hardliners and Kurdish extremists from its Syrian border.

Fighting around Al-Bab has escalated this week with Turkish soldiers and 138 Daesh fighters killed in clashes on Wednesday in the deadliest day since the start of Turkey’s Syrian incursion.

68 Daesh militants have been “neutralised” in fighting and airstrikes near Al-Bab since last night, the military said in a statement.

Read: Turkey’s Erdogan says Syria’s Al-Bab will soon be captured

A total of 141 Daesh targets were hit in the attacks and one of its military headquarters was destroyed, the military said, adding that two of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters had been killed and one wounded.

Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on yesterday that the area around a hospital used as a command centre and ammunition depot by Daesh had been cleared of militants, marking a breakthrough for the Syrian opposition.

Speaking in Kocaeli province, near Istanbul, Isik also said authorities had information three Turkish soldiers had been captured by Daesh but nothing else had been confirmed.

Daesh in Syria released a video on Thursday purporting to show two captured Turkish soldiers being burned to death, according to the US-based SITE Intelligence Group which monitors militant groups online.

Daesh burned the Turkish soldiers alive possibly in retaliation for Turkish airstrikes that killed dozens of civilians in Al-Bab, including several children. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor, confirmed these airstrikes and the victims took place.