ISIS-held al-Bab ’completely surrounded’ - Turkey

ISIS-held al-Bab ’completely surrounded’ - Turkey
Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters and Turkish soldiers have completely surrounded the ISIS-held town of al-Bab, Turkey’s defense minister said Thursday, according to Anadolu agency.

“Now al-Bab is completely surrounded. A serious cleaning operation is being done inside ,” Fikri Isik said, speaking in the Belgian capital Brussels.

"There is a very intense operation to clear al-Bab’s city center of Daesh elements. The Free Syrian Army and the Turkish Armed Forces have been conducting together,” Isik told reporters at a news conference, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

Turkey would help civilians living in al-Bab and would mend the city’s infrastructure after the terror group is driven out, he pointed out.

Turkey has been carrying out a military operation in northern Syria since last August. Led by FSA fighters, Operation Euphrates Shield aims to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border.

The operation has focused on al-Bab since early December.

Isik also said that Manbij and Raqqa, the de facto ISIS capital, are the next “top two priorities” for Turkey, and will be cleared of ISIS.

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