Turkish troops push on to recapture al-Bab from IS in northern Syria

About 44 Islamic State (IS) militants have been "neutralized" in northern Syria's al-Bab city, stated Turkish General Staff on Wednesday, adding that 117 others were wounded.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" to denote captured or killed militants.

Authorities added that a bomb-laden vehicle belonging to the militants was also destroyed.

Furthermore, about 154 IS targets were destroyed in the operation, including sanctuaries, defense posts, command centers, weapons and vehicles used by the militants.

Turkish troops and Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters have been battling to recapture al-Bab from IS for over a month, with clashes intensifying last week.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he has evidence that the U.S.-led coalition supports the terrorist groups, including the IS and the Syrian Kurdish forces.

"The anti-IS coalition forces accused us of supporting Daesh," Erdogan told a press conference in Ankara on Dec. 27, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

"Now they've all vanished and they're supporting terrorist groups including Daesh, the YPG and the PYD. It's very clear. We have solid evidence, in pictures and videos," he said.

Turkey launched its Euphrates Shield Operation on Aug. 24 to free its border of terrorist groups, not just the IS but also the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Turkey considers the PYD and the YPG as terrorist groups due to their alleged ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Endit