Turkey accuses IS of killing 30 civilians in Syria
Turkish Army tanks drive to the Syrian Turkish border town of Jarabulus on Sunday.
AFP, Istanbul :
The Turkish army on Monday accused Islamic State (IS) jihadists of killing at least 30 civilians seeking to flee the flashpoint Syrian town of Al-Bab which Ankara and its rebel allies have been seeking to capture for weeks.
The army said that the civilians were killed with mines and homemade bombs as they tried to make their way out of Al-Bab, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, without giving further details.
Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels have been seeking to take Al-Bab as a key part of un unprecedented four month campaign that began in late August.
But they have been facing tough opposition from the jihadists and suffered the highest casualties of the campaign so far in the fight for the town.
Turkey at the weekend deployed more tanks and artillery to the border and also as sent 500 elite commandos to Al-Bab in readiness for a final fight for the town, reports said. Thirty-six Turkish soldiers have died so far in the operation-dubbed Euphrates Shield-after another wounded soldier lost his life in hospital in Turkey overnight, reports said.
Sixteen Turkish soldiers were killed by IS in the battle for the town on Wednesday-Ankara’s biggest loss so far since it launched its incursion.
A Britain-based monitoring group has accused Turkey of killing 88 civilians in air strikes on Al-Bab, including 21 children. However the army has unequivocally denied such claims.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the weekend the battle for Al-Bab is nearly finished, reiterating Turkish forces would then head to Manbij, a former bastion of IS that is now under the control of US-backed, Kurdish-led militia.
Meanw Trkey on Sunday deployed more tanks and artillery to the border with war-torn Syria, where Ankara is pressing a campaign to capture an Islamic State group bastion, reports said.
Several tanks, military transport vehicles and at least 10 artillery units including cannons were sent to Oguzeli and Karkamis in southeastern Turkey, state news agency Anadolu reported.
The latest deployment came as Turkish forces tightened their grip around the IS bastion of Al-Bab in northern Syria, as Ankara-backed Syrian rebels and Turkish troops pressed a fierce assault to capture the town.
Sixteen Turkish soldiers were killed by IS in the battle for the flashpoint town Wednesday-Ankara’s biggest loss so far since it launched its incursion into Syria in August. The Turkish army said it killed 12 IS jihadists Sunday near Al-Bab, though it was not possible to independently verify the claim.
A Britain-based monitoring group meanwhile said on Friday that at least 88 civilians had been killed in 24 hours of Turkish air strikes on Al-Bab, including 21 children.
The Turkish army on Monday accused Islamic State (IS) jihadists of killing at least 30 civilians seeking to flee the flashpoint Syrian town of Al-Bab which Ankara and its rebel allies have been seeking to capture for weeks.
The army said that the civilians were killed with mines and homemade bombs as they tried to make their way out of Al-Bab, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, without giving further details.
Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels have been seeking to take Al-Bab as a key part of un unprecedented four month campaign that began in late August.
But they have been facing tough opposition from the jihadists and suffered the highest casualties of the campaign so far in the fight for the town.
Turkey at the weekend deployed more tanks and artillery to the border and also as sent 500 elite commandos to Al-Bab in readiness for a final fight for the town, reports said. Thirty-six Turkish soldiers have died so far in the operation-dubbed Euphrates Shield-after another wounded soldier lost his life in hospital in Turkey overnight, reports said.
Sixteen Turkish soldiers were killed by IS in the battle for the town on Wednesday-Ankara’s biggest loss so far since it launched its incursion.
A Britain-based monitoring group has accused Turkey of killing 88 civilians in air strikes on Al-Bab, including 21 children. However the army has unequivocally denied such claims.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the weekend the battle for Al-Bab is nearly finished, reiterating Turkish forces would then head to Manbij, a former bastion of IS that is now under the control of US-backed, Kurdish-led militia.
Meanw Trkey on Sunday deployed more tanks and artillery to the border with war-torn Syria, where Ankara is pressing a campaign to capture an Islamic State group bastion, reports said.
Several tanks, military transport vehicles and at least 10 artillery units including cannons were sent to Oguzeli and Karkamis in southeastern Turkey, state news agency Anadolu reported.
The latest deployment came as Turkish forces tightened their grip around the IS bastion of Al-Bab in northern Syria, as Ankara-backed Syrian rebels and Turkish troops pressed a fierce assault to capture the town.
Sixteen Turkish soldiers were killed by IS in the battle for the flashpoint town Wednesday-Ankara’s biggest loss so far since it launched its incursion into Syria in August. The Turkish army said it killed 12 IS jihadists Sunday near Al-Bab, though it was not possible to independently verify the claim.
A Britain-based monitoring group meanwhile said on Friday that at least 88 civilians had been killed in 24 hours of Turkish air strikes on Al-Bab, including 21 children.
