Bombing on Al-Bab kills 24 civilians

BEIRUT: Turkish bombardment of a Daesh group-held town in Syria has killed 24 civilians, a monitor said Thursday, but Turkey’s army said only “terrorists” died in the operation.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead in airstrikes and shelling on the town of Al-Bab in the last 24 hours included 11 children.
Turkey’s army, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency said it had killed 15 “terrorists” in airstrikes, artillery fire and clashes.
Al-Bab is Daesh’s final stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo and has come under fierce attack by Turkish forces and allied Syrian opposition fighters in recent months.
The joint force entered Al-Bab over the weekend, and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday that the town had “largely been taken under control.”
The Observatory, however, said Turkish forces had made little progress since entering the town from the west.
Turkey on said its armed forces were engaged in “clean-up” operations to clear remaining militants from Al-Bab.
“Al-Bab is now completely surrounded,” Defense Minister Fikri Isik told Turkish media in Brussels where he was attending a NATO meeting.
“There is a serious clean-up going on inside to clear Daesh completely,” he added. “Once this clean-up is completed, we expected life in Al-Bab to return to normal.”
Isik said the Turkish forces subsequently wanted to move on the town of Manbij but wanted the Kurdish militia fighters who ousted Daesh there last year to leave first.
Isik reaffirmed Turkey was also looking into the possibility of a joint operation with the US and other powers to take the terrorist bastion of Raqqa from Daesh.
But he again insisted that the Kurdish militia — enemies of Turkey but allies of the US in the fight against Daesh — must not be involved in the operation.
Isik announced that US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford would be visiting Ankara on Friday for talks about the issue.
“We will consider whether to do the Raqqa operation together,” Isik said. “I do not think the US has taken a definite decision on this,” he added.
Turkey began military operations in Syria in August, targeting both Daesh and Kurdish fighters.
Initially, its forces advanced quickly, but they stalled around Al-Bab in December.
The town is also a key target for Syrian regime forces, who had been advancing toward from the south.
But they have yet to enter Al-Bab, instead focused on clearing Daesh-held territory in the surrounding countryside in recent days.