Turkish army says Islamic State attack in Syria's al-Bab killed 30 civilians

[December 26, 2016]    ANKARA (Reuters) - At least 30 civilians were killed and many others were wounded on Sunday after Islamic State launched an attack in the Syrian town of al-Bab to prevent people from fleeing, the Turkish military said in a statement on Monday.

Syrian rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to the Islamic State-held town for weeks under the "Euphrates Shield" operation launched by Turkey nearly four months ago to sweep the Sunni hardliners and Kurdish fighters from its Syrian border.

(Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by David Dolan)

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