http://www.arabnews.com/node/1058641/middle-east
BEIRUT: Turkish-backed Syrian opposition announced on Thursday they had taken full control of Al-Bab from the Daesh group, marking a key defeat for the jihadists after weeks of heavy fighting.
The town of Al-Bab, just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Turkish border, was the last Daesh stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.
“We are announcing Al-Bab completely liberated, and we are now clearing mines from the residential neighborhoods,” said Ahmad Othman, a opposition commander.
“After hours of fighting, we chased out the last remaining Daesh rank and file that were collapsing after the fierce shelling of their positions,” he added.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the opposition were now in control of central Al-Bab.
It said fighters had surrounded the town to “break” Daesh's will but had held off on storming the center “with the aim of preventing civilian casualties.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights however said Daesh fighters were still present in parts of the town and the opposition were in control of less than half of it.
The opposition launched an offensive to capture Al-Bab last year with the support of Turkish ground troops, artillery and air strikes.
Al-Bab was Daesh’s last remaining stronghold in Aleppo province, after a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters seized the town of Manbij in August.
The jihadist group still controls a scattering of smaller villages and towns in the province.
Field commanders from two other opposition factions in the town confirmed the capture of Al-Bab to AFP.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), we captured the city center, which was Daesh’s security zone... The jihadists collapsed, and this morning around 6 am (0400 GMT) we completed the operation,” said Saif Abu Bakr, who heads the Al-Hamza opposition group.
Abu Jaafar, another opposition field commander, said he expected clearing up operations would be wrapped up within hours.
“Dozens of IS fighters were killed and we evacuated more than 50 families from inside Al-Bab,” Abu Jaafar said.
Turkey sent troops into Syria in August last year in an operation it said targeted not only Daesh but also US-backed Kurdish fighters whom it regards as terrorists.
The battle for Al-Bab has been the bloodiest of the campaign with at least 69 Turkish soldiers killed there.
“Al-Bab is important, insofar as its taking from Daesh will deprive the group of a tax base and an area where it was able to congregate and plot attacks against Syrians and the west,” said Aaron Stein, a senior fellow at the US-based Atlantic Council.
“For Turkey, the mission, as was defined back in 2016, is now complete: Turkish forces have forced Daesh from the border and cut the overland route between the two Kurdish cantons,” he told AFP.
Syria’s Kurds have managed autonomous administrations in swathes of the country’s north since 2012, and Al-Bab falls between the “cantons” of Kobani and Afrin.
“However, Turkey will now have to grapple with the questions of prolonged occupation of a foreign country and help to oversee the transition to civilian rule, a tall task of any foreign military,” Stein added.
The opposition victory comes as a fresh round of UN-brokered peace talks between Syria’s government and opposition figures opens Thursday in Geneva.
The Free Syrian Army (FSA), backed by the Turkish military, celebrated on the streets of Al-Bab on Thursday after taking control of the strategic town from Daesh.
Earlier in the day, FSA commander Ahmed al-Shahabi told Anadolu Agency: "The center of Al-Bab is now under opposition control."
Later, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik also confirmed the liberation of the town saying: “Almost all of Al-Bab is under control now, and a sweep operation is ongoing."
FSA fighters gathered in the town to celebrate the victory, firing into the air and saying prayers.
"Terrorist organizations will be cleared from Syria as well. Our country will soon be free," Ahmad Ali, an FSA field commander, told Anadolu Agency.
Sharef Akel, a civilian resident, told Anadolu Agency some Al-Bab families had started returning to their homes.
"Fortunately, our town was cleared of terror organizations. The conflict is over and we are relieved," Akel said.
Anadolu Agency teams witnessed celebrations by opposition units amid destroyed homes in Al-Bab.
The Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield aims to provide security, support U.S.-led coalition forces and eliminate the terrorist presence along Syria’s northern border with Turkey.
The operation, which began last summer, relies heavily on FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery and air support.
*Reporting by Halit Suleyman and Kemal Karagoz; Writing by Fatma Bulbul
http://aa.com.tr/en/vg/video-gallery/fsa-fighters-celebrate-liberation-of-al-bab
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http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/injured-free-syrian-army-fighters-treated-in-turkey/758113
Twelve Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters injured during clashes with Daesh terrorists in northern Syria were brought to Turkey's southern Kilis province for treatment on Thursday.
According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent in Kilis, the FSA fighters were wounded during fighting for Al-Bab.
The injured men received treatment at Kilis State Hospital, close to Turkey’s border with northern Syria.
Earlier in the day, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said the FSA, backed by the Turkish military, had taken control of "almost all" of Al-Bab.
“Almost all of Al-Bab is under control now, and a sweep operation is ongoing," Isik told reporters in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.
The Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield aims to provide security, support U.S.-led coalition forces and eliminate the terrorist presence along Syria’s northern border with Turkey.
The operation, which began last summer, relies heavily on FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery and air support.
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http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/mc...oops.aspx?pageID=238&nID=110105&NewsCatID=352
A spokeswoman for Republican Senator John McCain said Feb. 22 that he traveled to northern Syria last week to discuss plans for defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with U.S. forces stationed there.
McCain, an Arizona Republican, is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In a statement on Feb. 22, McCain’s spokeswoman described the visit as a “valuable opportunity to assess dynamic conditions on the group in Iraq and Syria,” The Associated Press reported. McCain had not announced the trip in advance.
This visit came before a visit to Turkey, during which McCain met with Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Feb. 20 in Ankara.
McCain has been a harsh critic of U.S. President Donald Trump’s worldview, declaring his administration in disarray. But the statement said the president “has rightly ordered a review of U.S. strategy and plans to defeat” ISIL.
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed force composed mainly of Kurdish fighters along with some Arab members, told Russia’s sputniknews.com on Feb. 23 on condition of anonymity that
McCain had also come to Kobane, a Kurdish-dominated area in northern Syria, and held talks there with SDF members.
The SDF source said they had demanded more weapons and support from the U.S., claiming that McCain had promised more support.
The SDF is mostly comprised of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG), which Turkey regards as a terror organization due to its ties with the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and does not want the YPG to exert a strong presence along the border with Syria.
The U.S. regards the YPG and its political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), as reliable partners in the fight against ISIL.
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A total of 56 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants were killed by Turkey-backed forces around the Syrian town of al-Bab and by U.S.-led coalition air strikes in the latest operations on Feb. 22, the Turkish military said on Feb. 23.
Turkish artillery fire also hit 104 ISIL targets, including buildings and bombed vehicles, the army said in a statement, reiterating it had largely established control in the residential areas of al-Bab.
The ISIL stronghold, 30 km (20 miles) from the Turkish border, has been a prime target since Turkey launched an operation with Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels in August 2016 to push the jihadists from its frontier.
The army said 11 of the jihadists were killed in air strikes by coalition forces, while the rest were killed in artillery fire and clashes during operations in al-Bab.
