ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Syrian opposition fighters, supported by the Turkish forces and air strikes which killed 58 ISIS fighters, took control of hills near al-Bab early Wednesday, as Syrian government backed forces advanced to within kilometers of the southern outskirts of the city, media and observatory groups reported.
“[The Turkish military] said in a statement that 58 Islamic State militants were killed in air strikes, artillery fire and clashes. Two Turkish soldiers had been killed and 15 slightly wounded,” according to Reuters.
The Turkish and opposition troop movements come less than 12 hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump agreed to act jointly against ISIS-controlled al-Bab and Raqqa, Reuters reported sources from Turkish presidency saying.
Turkish and FSA forces have been attempting to gain control of al-Bab for about three months and incurred many casualties as ISIS has put up stiff resistance.
Forces loyal to the Syrian government, including members of Lebanese Hezbollah supported by Russian artillery, advanced northward putting them about 3.5 kilometers away from the city of al-Bab, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday.
Syrian government aligned forces have been carrying out operations south of al-Bab for 20 days with the aim of cutting off southern supply lines to al-Bab.
“The control [of Tedef town] came after the regime forces led by Tiger groups led by the Brigadier-General in the regime forces Sohail Hassan were able to control the village of Bira al-Bab and its vicinity amid an intense bombardment by the regime forces on the clash areas and on the organization’s locations and controlled areas,” the human rights organization wrote.
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