The fighting around the town of al-Bab in northern Syria has been described as some of the deadliest yet in Turkey’s four-month old “Euphrates Shield” operation against the Islamic State group. <br /><br /> The Turkish military said 14 of its soldiers and 138 jihadist fighters were killed on Wednesday.<br /><br /> Another 33 Turkish soldiers who were wounded were taken to hospital at Gaziantep in Turkey’s southeast, it added.<br /><br /> The military said Turkish airstrikes destroyed dozens of ISIL targets on Wednesday. <br /><br /> Earlier it claimed that Turkish-backed Syrian rebels had largely established control over the strategic area around al-Bab’s hospital, following weeks of attacks against the ISIL militants.<br /><br /> Turkey’s military operation is focused on combating ISIL or Daesh, but Ankara is also determined to prevent the Kurdish YPG militia from strengthening their presence along the Turkish-Syrian border.<br /><br /> SYRIA: ISIS release footage of Turkish airstrike targeting their position in al-Bab, northern Syria. pic.twitter.com/Ck4tMiBMpc— Conflict News (@Conflicts) December 21, 2016<br />
