At least 30 civilians were killed and many more wounded in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab in an attack by the Islamic State group (ISIL) on Sunday, the Turkish army has said in a statement.<br /><br /> Ankara said ISIL launched the assault to stop people from fleeing the strategic town, which is some 30 kilometres south of the Turkish border.<br /><br /> Al-Bab has been the focus of an intense four-month Turkish offensive, called Operation Euphrates Shield, aimed at pushing back ISIL and Kurdish forces from areas near its border.<br /><br /> The Turkish army also announced that it had destroyed 140 ISIL targets on Sunday and a further 113 by early Monday, adding that 12 terrorists had been killed.<br />
