Turkish army says Islamic State putting
up 'stiff resistance' in Syria
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[October 12, 2016]
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Islamic State
militants in northern Syria are putting up "stiff resistance" to attacks
by Turkish-backed rebel fighters, Turkey's military said on Wednesday,
almost two months after it launched an incursion to drive them away from
its border.
Supported by Turkish tanks and air strikes, the rebels have been pushing
toward the Islamic State stronghold of Dabiq. Clashes and air strikes
over the past 24 hours have killed 47 jihadists, the military said in a
statement.
"Due to stiff resistance of the Daesh (Islamic State) terror group,
progress could not be achieved in an attack launched to take four
settlements," it said, naming the areas east of the town of Azaz as
Kafrah, Suran, Ihtimalat and Duvaybik.
However, the operation to drive the jihadists away from the Turkish
border, dubbed "Euphrates Shield", has allowed Turkish-backed rebels to
take control of about 1,100 square km (425 square miles) of territory,
the military said.
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A Syrian rebel commander told Reuters the rebels were about 4 km (2.5
miles) from Dabiq. He said capturing Dabiq and the nearby town of Suran
would spell the end of Islamic State's presence in the northern Aleppo
countryside.
A planned major offensive on the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab,
southeast of Dabiq and an important strategic target, depended on how
quickly rebels could take control of the roughly 35 km (22 miles) in
between the two cities, he said.
Al-Bab is also a strategic target for the Kurdish YPG militia, which,
like the rebels, is battling Islamic State in northern Syria but is
viewed as a hostile force by Turkey.
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![](../images/101216pics/news_p27.jpg)
A Turkish Army military vehicle, with the Syrian town of Kobani in
the background, patrols on the Turkish-Syrian border in Suruc in
Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 26, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
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In a daily round-up on Euphrates Shield's 50th day, the Turkish army
said 19 Islamic State fighters had been "neutralized" in clashes and
eight rebels were killed. Twenty-two rebels were wounded and Turkish
forces suffered no losses.
Turkish warplanes destroyed five buildings used by Islamic State
fighters, while U.S.-led coalition jets "neutralized" 28 of the
jihadists and destroyed three buildings, it said.
(Additional reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut; Writing by Daren
Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Louise Ireland)
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