Off the wire
• UK firm given license for uranium exploration in southern Zambia  • Feature: No limits for Bundesliga's youngest coach  • Senior official stresses research on people's congress system  • Roundup: UN, AU pledge support for new Somalia leader  • France's prestigious gourmet guide Michelin rewards chef Alleno with three stars  • Feature: China's Silk Road in the Sky  • China's outbound investment to slow in 2017: ministry  • Roundup: AU, IGAD congratulate Somalia's president-elect, Somalis for democratic, credible elections  • India's top court orders one-year jail to cinema owner after fire kills 59  • Roundup: Conflicting reports on 2 tunnel workers killed in southern Gaza  
You are here: 　 Home

Syria army, Turkish forces close in on IS stronghold in northern Syria

Xinhua, February 9, 2017 Adjust font size:

Syrian army backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group are closing in on the IS stronghold of the city of al-Bab in northern Syria, while Turkish forces and allied rebels are advancing in the northern part of that key city near the Turkish borders, a monitor group reported on Thursday.

Intense battles are raging between Syrian army and Hezbollah on one side with the backing of Russian artillery shelling, against the IS in the southern and southwestern part of the city of al-Bab, the last major IS stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo, near the Turkish frontier, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Meanwhile, Turkish forces and rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and other rebel groups fighting under the umbrella of the Ankara-backed Euphrates Shield are advancing in the northern part of al-Bab, according to the UK-based watchdog group.

The Syrian army and allied fighters have become less than three kilometers from al-Bab, said the report.

As for the Turkish forces, the troops are aiming to divert the attention of the IS militants inside the city, by heavily shelling al-Bab by airstrikes and artillery shelling.

The Observatory said tens of fighters from the Turkish and IS sides have been killed during the confrontation since Tuesday.

It also added that 315 civilians, including 64 children, have been killed by the Turkish shelling on al-Bab since Nov. 13, 2016, the date on which the Turkish-backed rebels reached the outskirts of the city.

Both the Turkish forces and the Syrian ones are fighting separately and haven't clashed with one another, as observers said it's a result of a Russian-Turkish coordination, which was reached when Turkey and Russia sponsored a cease-fire in Syria that went into effect on Dec. 30.

For the Turks, al-Bab is important to cut the road in front of the Kurdish dream to link areas under their control in northern Syria.

As for the Syrian army, securing the southern rim of al-Bab will help in protecting the city of Aleppo from IS attacks.

The Syrian army wrested full control over the entire city of Aleppo in December of last year, poising for further military operations in the sprawling countryside of that key province, with the help of the Russian air force and the ground fighters of Hezbollah and other Shiite groups. Endit