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Turkish-backed forces fighting street battles in Syria's al-Bab: defense minister

06 January 2017 12:21 (UTC +04:00)

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are fighting street battles with Islamic State militants in the city of al-Bab, and progress in taking it from the jihadists has been slowed by efforts to avoid civilian casualties, Reuters cited Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik as saying on Friday.

The rebels, backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and war planes, have been besieging the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab for weeks as part of an operation to drive the jihadists out of a strip of Syrian territory along the Turkish border.

Earlier, Reuters reported about the delivery of tanks and armored units from Turkey to Syria. The agency also disseminated their photos which were taken in Cobanbey district of Syria.

Isik was speaking to local broadcaster Haberturk.

The Euphrates Shield operation was launched between the Turkish Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army, with the aim to sweep Islamic State militants from Syria, and has been running for 136 days. The operation has neutralized more than 1,000 terrorists since its launch on August 24.

Forty-two Turkish soldiers were martyred during the battles.