Turkey-backed militants have seized the center of the town of al-Bab from the Islamic State, after intensive fighting since December. “Today, we can say that almost all of al-Bab is under control. They (rebels) entered the town. They are mainly carrying out activities to find and clear (mines and explosives). Once these activities are over, we can say al-Bab is completely cleansed from Daesh (Islamic State) forces. We no longer need much time. Today, they have entered the center of the town and began searching and clearing (mines),” said Fikri Isik, Turkish Defense Minister.
Turkey launched its Syria operation, dubbed “Operation Euphrates Shield”, in August with a declared goal of eradicating the Islamic State from its border region while pushing backed Kurdish militias. Taking control of the town of al-Bab, an Islamic State stronghold some 30 kilometers, or 20 miles, from the Turkish border, effectively deepens Turkish influence of an area of Syria where it has created a buffer zone and would allow the Turkish military, together with its Syrian militias press on to the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria. Meanwhile, even though Turkey announced the successful capture of the town of al-Bab, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than half of al-Bab was still under Islamic State control, and that battles were still raging. There was no immediate comment from the Turkish military.