Turkish troops and Syrian rebels have entered ISIL-held Al Bab, the group's last stronghold in northern Syria, at the same time as Syrian government forces are also approaching it, according to a monitor and Turkish-backed fighters.

Heavy clashes were under way with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group on Saturday in Al Bab, 40km south of the Turkish border, which has been besieged since Monday, when government forces advancing from the south cut off a road leading into the town, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.

"Turkish forces and allied rebels in the Euphrates Shield campaign entered the western edge of the town and took control of a number of areas," said the SOHR.

The Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham group announced on Saturday, on Twitter, that the rebel forces had taken Al Bab's silos and sports complex in its southwestern districts.

The coalition's operations room released a video on social media showing its fighters at the gates of the Hikma hospital.

The Turkish military said in a statement on Saturday that at least 43 ISIL fighters were "neutralised" [meaning either killed or captured] in the last 24 hours as part of the operation.

At least 245 ISIL targets, including the group's shelters, headquarters, defence positions and vehicles, were hit by Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters with Turkish Land Forces' support, the statement said.

It also said Turkish fighter jets destroyed 55 buildings used by ISIL as hideouts, two headquarters, two meeting points, a guard station, an arms depot, and a wireless station.

Turkey began a campaign inside Syria on August 24, attacking both ISIL (also known as ISIS) and Kurdish fighters.

After initial rapid progress, the campaign became mired in the deadly fight for Al Bab since December.

READ MORE: Operation Euphrates Shield - Progress and scope

At least 66 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the campaign since it started, mostly in ISIL attacks, according to Turkey's Dogan news agency. Turkey claims to have killed at least 2,705 ISIL members and 344 Kurdish fighters.

Al Bab has been under ISIL control since 2014, when the group seized large expanses of territory in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, proclaiming a caliphate.

Astana invitations

On the diplomatic front, President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebel delegations have been invited along with Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, to meetings in Astana on February 15-16, according to Kazakhstan's foreign ministry.

The talks in the Kazakh capital will discuss the implementation and consolidation of the ceasefire in Syria, the ministry said.

Representatives of Jordan and the US are also invited to the meeting.

The negotiations - brokered by Russia, Iran and Turkey - began last month with the aim of solidifying a broad ceasefire, in effect since late December.

The three countries have mapped out the areas they believe are controlled by the moderate opposition forces included in the truce and the armed groups that are not.</s>Turkish troops and their Syrian allies enter ISIL bastion al-Bab, and capture is imminent, Turkish president says.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies have entered the centre of the ISIL bastion al-Bab, saying its capture was just a "matter of time".

"Al-Bab is now besieged from all fronts ... Our forces entered the centre" with Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, Erdogan told journalists in Istanbul on Sunday before leaving for a tour of Gulf countries.

Erdogan said it was "only a matter of time" before the allied forces took full control of the flashpoint town.

"Daesh forces have begun leaving al-Bab completely," he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group.

Turkish forces and allied rebels on Saturday entered al-Bab to drive ISIL fighters from the flashpoint northern town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Turkish army launched an ambitious campaign inside Syria on August 24, codenamed Euphrates Shield, to clean its border from ISIL fighters and stop the advance of Kurdish militia.

But the clashes in al-Bab have proved the toughest in the campaign, with Turkish military fatalities surging.

One Turkish soldier was killed and three others wounded in clashes with fighters on Sunday, the private Dogan news agency reported, citing military sources.

The latest casualty raised the number of Turkish troops killed in the Syria offensive to 67.

The three injured troops were evacuated from al-Bab and taken to hospitals in Turkey's Kilis and Gaziantep provinces near the Syrian border, Dogan reported.

Al-Bab is the armed group's last stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo and is also being targeted by regime forces.</s>BEIRUT: Turkish troops and Syrian rebels on Saturday entered the Islamic State-held town of Al-Bab in northern Syria, as government forces moved closer to the jihadist bastion, a monitor said.

"Turkish forces and allied rebels in the Euphrates Shield campaign entered the western edge of the town and took control of a number of areas," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The monitor said heavy clashes were underway with IS in the town, which is the jihadist group’s last stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo.

The town is the target of two competing assaults, with the Turkish-led "Euphrates Shield" campaign advancing from the north, east and west, while Syrian government troops attack from the south.

It has been besieged since Monday, when Syrian troops severed a road leading into the town from the south.

By Friday, government forces were just 1.5 kilometres (less then a mile) from the southern outskirts of Al-Bab.

Turkey began an unprecedented campaign inside Syria in August, targeting both IS and Kurdish militia.

After initial rapid progress, the campaign has been mired since December in the deadly fight for Al-Bab.

Turkey’s Dogan news agency says 66 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the campaign since it started, mostly in IS attacks.

And on Thursday, three Turkish soldiers were killed when a Russian air strike accidentally hit their position in a strike targeting IS fighters in Al-Bab. Moscow said the incident was an accident and is under investigation.

Despite backing opposite sides in Syria’s conflict -- Moscow is a government ally while Turkey supports the opposition -- the two countries have worked closely in recent months.

They helped broker a nationwide ceasefire in place since December 30, and sponsored a round of peace talks last month in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

Al-Bab has been under IS control since 2014, when the group seized large swathes of territory in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, proclaiming its self-described caliphate.

In recent months, the jihadists have been rolled back in large parts of northern Syria, both by the Turkish campaign but also a Kurdish-Arab alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF fights with air support from the US-led coalition battling IS in Syria and Iraq, but Turkey regards the Kurdish component of the SDF as "terrorists".

The alliance is pushing towards IS’s de facto Syrian capital Raqa in an operation dubbed "Wrath of the Euphrates".

The advance has progressed slowly, in part, SDF officials say, because IS has heavily mined territory around Raqa.

The Observatory said on Saturday that SDF fighters had now advanced to around eight kilometres from the eastern outskirts of Raqa, though their forces are further from the north of the city.

Turkey has suggested that it could turn its sights to Raqa after the Al-Bab operation is complete, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussing both Al-Bab and Raqa in a call with US President Donald Trump this week.

Syria’s conflict has killed more than 310,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Successive rounds of peace talks, including discussions organised by Russia and Turkey in Kazakhstan last month, have failed to advance a political solution to the conflict.

Turkish troops, Syrian rebels enter IS-held town was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on February 12, 2017 and was last updated on February 12, 2017. This news story is related to Print/185719-Turkish-troops-Syrian-rebels-enter-IS-held-town/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "Turkish troops, Syrian rebels enter IS-held town" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/185719-Turkish-troops-Syrian-rebels-enter-IS-held-town.</s>In the northern Aleppo countryside, the towns of Tell Rifaat, Menagh, Mayer, Tell Jibbin, Ma’arasteh Khan and Hardatnin have joined a reconciliation agreement with the Syrian government after talks with a Russian mediation. Tell Rifaat and Menagh had been controlled by the Kurdish YPG.

On February 9, an escalation erupted between Syrian government and Turkish forces in the area of al-Bab.

Initially the Turkish General Staff announced that an accidental Russian airstrike had killed three Turkish soldiers and wounded 11 others in the area of al-Bab. The incident was confirmed by the Russian military.

Later at the same day, pro-Turkish militants engaged Syrian army and National Defense Forces (NDF) troops at Abu Zandin and Shamawiya located at the road to the ISIS stronghold of al-Bab.

As a result of a series of firefights, two Syrian soldiers were allegedly killed and pro-Turkish militants seized a BMP vehicle.

The Hawar-Kilis Operation Room, one of the biggest factions involved in the Turkish Operation Euphrates Shield, was involved in the escalation. Also, Turkish artillery units allegedly delivered a number of strikes against government forces in the area, according to sources close to Hawar-Kilis.

The escalation came amid reports that Turkish forces once again entered into Qabasin and Bzaah, and the army and the NDF liberated Abu Taltal located in a striking distance from Tadef, an important ISIS defense site at the southern flank of al-Bab.

Separately, Islamists launched an advance in northeastern Latakia, engaging government forces at the Rashu Hill. Initially, militants seized the area and made attempt to develop the success, but then the army and the NDF reversed their gains. The situation remains tense.

Turkish forces once against lost the key town of Bzaah east of Al-Bab after temporarily capturing it from ISIS yesterday. Meanwhile, ISIS units launched an advance against pro-Turkish militants in Al-Ameh aiming to re-establish a supply line to al-Bab which had been under constant artillery fire from the Syrian army since Sunday.

Sporadic firefights and artillery duels continue between pro-Turkish forces and the so-called “Syrian Democratic Forces” backed by the US in northern Aleppo. Recently clashes were observed near Sheikh Issa, Ayn Daqnah, Tell Rifaat, Mranaz and Shawarigha. An armored personnel carrier with pro-Turkish fighters was destroyed by the SDF between Jibrin and Ayn Daqnah.

At least 6 ISIS vehicles equipped with machine guns were destroyed by the army and the NDF in the clashes near the al-Seen Airbase. Some 34 ISIS members were also reported dead.

The Desert Hawks Brigade has deployed to the area of the Tiyas Airbase in order to support the Syrian army’s advance against ISIS in the province of Homs. The brigade will participate in the army’s operation to liberate the gas fields north of the Homs-Palmyra highway and allegedly take part in the advance on Palmyra. Pro-government sources claim that up to dozen of ISIS suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices were destroyed in the recent clashes in the area.

Strategically, government forces will need to Palmyra back from ISIS if they want to develop an advance in the direction of Deir Ezzor where the army defends local population from ISIS attacks. In case of the Russian-US coordination over the conflict, this push will be likely synchronized with the US-backed operation aimed to isolate al-Raqqah. This will increase a military pressure on ISIS and will push it to fight on two fronts in the area between al-Raqqah and Deir Ezzor simultaneously.
• Syrian Army Kill Dozens of ISIL Terrorists in the Vicinity of Deir Ezzor
• Dozens of Civilians Left al-Houleh Area in Homs through Safe Corridor
• Iran Could Allow Russia Use its Airspace to Support Operation in Syria

Filed under: Syria, Russia, Free Syrian Army, War on Syria, Wahabism At Work, Turkey, Syrian Army, ISIL, kurds, Syrian Resistance | Tagged: YPG |</s>Syrian opposition forces say they have advanced inside the Islamic State-held town of al-Bab, in northern Syria.

The Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham militia announced Saturday on Twitter that opposition forces had taken the city's silos and sports complex in its southwestern districts. The coalition's operations room released a video on social media showing its fighters at the gates of the Hikma hospital. Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also reported the hospital's capture.

Turkish troops and aircraft are also engaged in the "Euphrates Shield" assault on al-Bab.

The Turkish-backed forces are racing to seize al-Bab before rival Syrian government forces arrive. The Observatory says government forces are about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) away.

Al-Bab is 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the Turkish border.</s>Turkish troops and Syrian opposition groups have reportedly entered the Islamic State (Isis) stronghold of Al-Bab on Saturday (11 February).

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said allied soldiers from both groups entered from the western edge of the town where heavy clashes ensued.

Al-Bab is the last town held by IS (Daesh) in Aleppo province, after the Syrian government recaptured the city of Aleppo in December 2016.

The confrontation in Al-Bab has the potential to endanger the ongoing ceasefire between opposition groups and Bashar Al-Assad's government, with both sides vying for the territory.

On Monday (6 February), the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) encircled Al-Bab as it prepared to launch its own offensive on the town.

However, on Friday (10 February), before the SAA was able to proceed, it became involved in an exchange with Syrian militants on the outskirts of Al-Bab, 1.5km south-west of the town, until Russian officials intervened and halted the situation.

A Syrian opposition member told Reuters: "[We] shot to warn them not to get any closer, but the tank responded and a clash erupted."

"Later on Russia intervened to calm down the situation," added the militant official. "This whole incident felt like a test."

Russian officials declined to comment on the flare-up, but an official from the SAA confirmed the incident on the condition of anonymity.

Russia and Turkey, in addition to Iran, have acted as guarantors to the Syrian ceasefire reached in December and extended in the Kazakh capital of Astana in January.

Further talks are scheduled there during 15-16 February, and talks backed by the United Nations are due to take place in Geneva on 20 February.

Turkey entered the Syrian conflict with operation Euphrates Shield in August while Syrian forces focused on the capture of Aleppo.

They and anti-government militants have since created a buffer zone in the north of the country where they launched offensives against IS and Kurdish forces such as the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Turkey sees the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) – a militant group within Turkey which has been fighting for its autonomy since the 1980s.</s>Syrian government forces supported by Russian air strikes have retaken the town of Tadef, the most reinforced position of Islamic State near the city of Al-Bab, and reached the contact line with the Free Syrian Army as it was coordinated with Turkey, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Feb. 11.

"On February 11, during an offensive operation in the northwest of the Aleppo province, the Syrian Armed Forces, supported by aviation of the Russian Aerospace Force, have liberated from ISIS terrorists the populated locality of Tadef, the militants’ most reinforced position near the city of Al-Bab," the ministry said in a statement.

"The offensive operation resulted in the Syrian government forces’ approach to the contact line coordinated with the Turkish side," it said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the government forces destroyed 650 militants, two tanks and four IFVs and 18 all-terrain vehicles with heavy weaponry and other equipment.

"Moreover, control has been regained over the road to Raqqa, along which ISIS military groups in the town of Al-Bab have been supplied with weapons and ammunition," the Russian defense ministry said.

Earlier on Feb. 11, the Lebanese television channel Al-Manar said that Syrian government forces were at a distance of 1.5 km from Al-Bab, besieged in the north and west by Syrian opposition units supported by Turkish troops. In August 2016, Turkey launched a military operation in northern Syria, code-named as Operation Euphrates Shield.

Read more: Will 'friendly' fire deaths in Syria dampen Russian-Turkish relations?</s>Alwaght- The forces of Syrian national army take great step forward on their latest offensive against the ISIS terrorist group by entering the al-Bab city on Saturday.

Russian Defense Ministry said the offensive was supported by Russian airstrikes as the army retook the town of Tadef, the most reinforced position of ISIS near the city of al-Bab.

Based on the report, Syrian national army has reached the line they had agreed with the so-called Free Syrian Army as it was coordinated with Turkey.

"On February 11, during an offensive operation in the northwest of the Aleppo province, the Syrian Armed Forces, supported by aviation of the Russian Aerospace Force, have liberated from ISIS terrorists the populated locality of Tadef, the militants’ most reinforced position near the city of Al-Bab," the ministry said in a statement.

"The offensive operation resulted in the Syrian government forces’ approach to the contact line coordinated with the Turkish side," it said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the government forces destroyed 650 militants, two tanks and four IFVs and 18 all-terrain vehicles with heavy weaponry and other equipment.

"Moreover, control has been regained over the road to Raqqa, along which ISIS military groups in the town of al-Bab have been supplied with weapons and ammunition," the Russian defense ministry said.</s>A woman walks past debris along a street in Aleppo's Belleramoun Industrial Zone, Syria February 2, 2017. — Reuters picBEIRUT, Feb 11 — Turkish troops and Syrian rebels today entered the Islamic State-held town of Al-Bab in northern Syria, as government forces also approached the jihadist bastion, a monitor said.

“Turkish forces and allied rebels in the Euphrates Shield campaign entered the western edge of the town and took control of a number of areas,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The monitor said heavy clashes were underway with IS in the town, which is the jihadist group’s last stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo.

The town has been seen as a key prize and Syrian government troops and allied forces have also been advancing towards it in a bid to wrest it from IS.

Al-Bab was besieged since Monday, when government forces advancing from the south cut off a road leading into the town.

By Friday, government forces were just 1.5 kilometres from the southern outskirts of Al-Bab, while Turkish troops and allied rebels advanced from the north, east and west.

Turkey began an unprecedented campaign inside Syria on August 24, targeting both IS and Kurdish militia.

After initial rapid progress, the campaign became mired in the deadly fight for Al-Bab since December.

Turkey’s Dogan news agency says 66 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the campaign since it started, mostly in IS attacks.

Al-Bab has been under IS control since 2014, when the group seized large swathes of territory in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, proclaiming its self-described caliphate. — AFP</s>The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that the Syrian army supported by Russian aviation have destroyed a Daesh stronghold near the city of al-Bab in the Aleppo province.The Syrian army killed over 650 terrorists and terrorists' hardware in their operation to free the town of Tadif near al-Bab.According to the Russian ministry, Tadif which is located in Aleppo province's north-east wasAfter liberating Tadif, the Syrian army agreed with Turkey on a demarcation line with Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army opposition fighters."Daesh fighters in al-Bab used to receive arms and ammunition via the highway leading to Raqqa," the ministry said.Currently, the Syrian army is approaching al-Bab controlled by Daesh from the west and south, while the Turkish-led forces are attempting to advance into and liberate the town from the north and the east.On Friday, a military source told Sputnik that the Syrian government forces cut off the retreat path for Daesh from al-Bab.The Turkish military operation in Syria's al-Bab has entered the final stage . Turkey's units entered central al-Bab, the operation is being conducted in coordination with Russia to prevent clashes with Syrian government forces.Al-Bab is one of Daesh's last remaining strongholds near the Turkish border. Capturing the city is of strategic importance to Turkey in order to prevent the Syrian Kurds taking it and unifying their own territories.
Syrian rebels and Turkish troops enter al-Bab, with Syrian troops also approaching the town, prompting heavy clashes with ISIL militants.