Turkish forces ‘neutralize’ 32 Daesh terrorists in northern Syria. The terrorist organization loses inner circle during al-Bab operation
Also, 292 Daesh targets, including the terror group’s shelters, headquarters, defense positions and vehicles had been hit by Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters with Turkish army’s support during the same time period, the statement said.
Turkish Air force also hit 35 Daesh targets in Syria’s Al-Bab, Suflaniyyah, Bzagah and Kabr al Mukri regions, including control points, shelters, headquarters and vehicles used by the terrorists, the statement added.
The Turkish army is supporting FSA fighters in liberating Al-Bab, a strategic city for Daesh, from the terrorist group.
Sunday marks the 138th day of the operation.
The statement also said 2,817 improvised explosives had been defused since the start of the operation on Aug. 24.
The Turkey-led Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.
Daesh loses inner circle during al-Bab operation
In the context of the Euphrates Shield operation in Syria, 1,320 Daesh terrorists have been killed, including the inner circle of the terrorist organization such as top Daesh terrorists and so-called emir Abu Ansari and Abu Ansari Tunusi.
Abu Ensari was reportedly killed in the airstrikes that was conducted on December 30, 2016, in al-Bab.
A number of top Daesh terrorists were killed by Turkish warplanes in operations in al-Bab, Bzagah and Tadif districts of Syria.
Meanwhile, as many as 306 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)- affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD) terrorists have been neutralized, including 291 killed, during the operation.
Al-Bab soon to be rescued from Daesh: Opposition
The Syrian province of al-Bab, witnessing Euphrates Shield operation, will be rescued from the Daesh terrorists as the city has already been surrounded by the Turkey-backed moderate opposition fighters, Sultan Murat Division Commander Fehim Isa said. “Despite the slowing of the process due to the bad weather conditions, Daesh was weakened by the determinism of the fighters,” Isa said. Opposition commander also said that the civilians who succeeded to flee the city made the terrorists lose power as the moderate opposition was concerned about the security of the civilians who used to be stuck inside the Daesh-held city.
“When the operation started, there were 40,000 to 50,000 civilians; however, after a big percentage of the residents fled the city, it is estimated that up to 3,000 civilians are still in al-Bab,” he said. “We will rescue al-Bab from Daesh terrorists. They had great losses and they cannot send military reinforcements to al-Bab due to the ongoing attacks against the terrorist organization in Iraqi province of Mosul and Syrian province of Raqqa,” Isa said. “We will never take a step back. In the last 1.5 years around 400 fighters have been martyred. We are determined to sweep them out of al-Bab,” the commander added.
Sultan Murat Division Commander also thanked Turkey and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the support that is being given to Syrians.
Dispute among Daesh terrorists
A previous report showed that the dispute within the bloody Daesh terrorist organization resulted in the execution of Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, a top terrorist who was against the continued leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi due to his disability.
The friction was caused by Adnani’s objections to the leadership of Baghdadi, who lost his leg in the U.S. bombardment in al-Anbari, Iraq, in July 2016.
Adnani was pushing Baghdadi to leave his seat after Baghdadi was wounded by an attack from the U.S.- led coalition while traveling in a convoy in the Iraqi province.
Multinational Daesh terrorists
Terrorists from more than 70 nations joined the terrorist organization. The terrorist organization is known to have included the intelligence officers of many countries, particularly United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France.
The fight against Daesh is crucial, particularly for Turkey, both for the security of the country and the region, as Daesh terrorists often conduct attacks in many Turkish provinces, particularly the airport attack conducted in Istanbul which resulted in 45 fatalities, as well as the Gaziantep wedding attack that killed over 50 people and the recent nightclub attack in Istanbul that left 39 people dead.
Therefore; Turkey is backing the Free Syrian Army against the Daesh terrorists in the Euphrates Shield operation which aims to clear terrorists in northern Syria.
