Seventeen Daesh terrorists were "neutralized" in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of Turkey-backed Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish military said Wednesday. Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question were either killed, captured or surrounded.
The Turkish Armed Forces also hit 180 Daesh positions in northern Syria, including command control facilities, shelters , vehicles and weapons, said a Turkish General Staff statement. Turkish jets also hit a Daesh shelter in the region of Al-Bab on the 155th day of the operation. Thirty handmade grenades were also neutralized.Since the beginning of the operation 3,149 handmade explosives and 55 mines were neutralized under controlled conditions.
Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to tighten border security, eliminate the terror threat along Turkish borders, and support opposition forces in Syria. The Free Syrian Army is backed by Turkish artillery and jets as a part of the operation.