Turkish troops and Syrian rebels enter ISIL-held town

Beirut // Turkish troops and Syrian rebels on Saturday entered the ISIL-held town of Al Bab in northern Syria, as government forces also moved closer to the extremist bastion.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkish forces and allied militias entered Al Bab from the west and then took full control of its western suburbs after fierce clashes with ISIL militants.

The clashes coincided with “Turkish shelling and intensive air strikes” on Al Bab, the Britain-based monitor said.

Al Bab is the extremist group’s last stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo and is also being targeted by regime forces.

While Turkish-led forces have been advancing from the north, east and west, Syrian government troops are attacking from the south.

One Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in the clashes in Al Bab, Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency quoted military sources as saying.

Turkish forces and allied rebels have for weeks pressed an operation code-named Euphrates Shield to drive ISIL from the flashpoint town.

On Monday, Syrian troops severed a road leading into the town from the south and by Friday they were just 1.5 kilometres from the southern outskirts of Al Bab.

Turkey began an unprecedented campaign inside Syria in August, targeting both ISIL and Kurdish militia.

After initial rapid progress, the campaign has been mired since December in the deadly fight for Al Bab.

Turkey’s Dogan news agency says 66 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the campaign since it started, mostly in ISIL attacks.

And on Thursday, three Turkish soldiers were killed when a Russian air strike accidentally hit their position in a strike targeting ISIL fighters in Al Bab.

Moscow said the incident was an accident and is under investigation.

Despite backing opposite sides in Syria’s conflict — Moscow is a government ally while Turkey supports the opposition — the two countries have worked closely in recent months.

They helped broker a nationwide ceasefire in place since December 30, and sponsored a round of peace talks last month in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

Al Bab has been under IS control since 2014, when the group seized large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

*Agence France-Presse