Turkish army enters Syria’s Al-Bab – president Erdogan

Turkey’s army and Syrian rebels fought their way into the centre of the city of Al-Bab in northern Syria, ousting militants of the Islamic State from there as they did so, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. ISIS is retreating, he said, and retaking full control of the city is only a matter of time.

The fighting for Al-Bab, a city with a population of 100,000 just 30 km away from the Turkish border, has been on since August last year, as part of ‘Euphrates Shield’, a military operation launched by Turkey and allied rebel factions to reclaim border areas from the Islamic State. 67 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the Syria offensive, BBC reports.

President Bashar Assad’s army has been advancing on Al-Bab from the south-west, supported by Russian air forces. Russia has carried out its air attacks with Turkey as well.

Al-Bab was seized by Islamic State militants in the winter of 2013-2014.

By reclaiming it from them, Turkey seeks to prevent two Kurdish areas on its border – Afrane and Kobane – uniting.

Over 300,000 people have been killed and up to 7 million have become refugees since the civil war started in Syria in 2011, according to UN.