Turkish army, Syrian rebels escalate assault on IS-held city

The Turkish army and allied Syrian rebels have captured the western outskirts of the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab, a rebel official and war monitor said on Wednesday, escalating their assault as the Syrian army also advanced on the city.

کد خبر: ۶۶۵۱۶۵

تاریخ: ۲۰ بهمن ۱۳۹۵ - ۱۲:۳۹

"With last night’s assault, Islamic State’s defenses have been broken through and the advance is now continuing," said a Turkmen Syrian rebel official, speaking from the Turkish city of Gaziantep.

Syrian government forces have advanced to within a few kilometers (miles) of al-Bab, which is located 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Aleppo. The separate campaign by the Syrian army has raised the risk of a clash with the Turkish military.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organization that reports on the war, said the Turkish forces and their Free Syrian Army rebel allies had captured a hill on the western periphery of the city.

"We don't know if Daesh (Islamic State) will be able to recover it, or if it is in a state of collapse," Observatory Director Rami Abdulrahman said. The rebel official said Turkish reinforcements had been sent to the area a week ago.