Turkish soldiers and Turkey-backed Syrian rebels have completely surrounded the Daesh-held town of Al-Bab, Ankara’s defense minister said on Thursday. Speaking in Brussels, Fikri Isik said Turkey would help civilians living in Al-Bab and would fix the town’s infrastructure after the terror group is driven out. “Now, Al-Bab is completely surrounded. A serious cleaning operation is being done inside [the town].
"There is a very intense operation to clear Al-Bab’s town center of Daesh elements. The Free Syrian Army [FSA] and the Turkish Armed Forces have been conducting [operations] together,” Isik told reporters at a news conference.
Turkey has been carrying out a military operation in northern Syria since last August. Led by FSA fighters, Operation Euphrates Shield aims to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border.
The operation has focused on Al-Bab since early December. Referring to Turkey’s next “top two priorities” after liberating Al-Bab, Isik said Syria's Manbij and Raqqa would also be cleared of Daesh.
One of the goals of the operation now is to liberate Raqqa, Daesh’s “capital,” as well as Manbij, a strategically important city located on the western banks of the Euphrates River, which is currently controlled by terrorist forces.