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2 Turkish soldiers killed in IS attack in northern Syria

Xinhua, September 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Two Turkish soldiers were killed and five others injured on Tuesday when their tanks came under Islamic State (IS) attack in northern Syria, the Turkish military said.

The attack occurred south of al-Rai, where Turkish tanks and armored personnel carriers were deployed to support Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters in their southward advance against IS militants, Turkish media reported.

The FSA captured al-Rai last week. The town had changed hands multiple times during the past months in battles with the IS.

On Aug. 24, the Turkish military started a cross-border operation dubbed "Euphrates Shield," driving out IS militants from the Syrian border town of Jarablus.

On Sunday, the FSA managed to reconnect Jarabulus with Azaz, a town under its control, Daily Sabah reported.

In addition to fighting IS, the Turkish operation also aims to hit positions of the People's Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

Ankara sees the YPG and PYD as offshoots of its home-grown Kurdistan Workers' Party, which was labeled as a terror group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Endit