Turkish backed rebels fighting as part of the Free Syrian Army claim to have taken control of a key road leading into the city of al-Bab. It’s part of a multi-pronged attack to oust ISIL militants from the area.<br /><br /> The Turkish-backed opposition forces advancing from the north are racing to seize al-Bab before Syrian government forces reach the town from the south.<br /><br /> The advance comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the final goal of his country’s incursion into Syria was to cleanse the border region of jihadists.<br /><br /> “After this operation to take al-Bab, the next targets in the east are Manbij and Raqqa.The ultimate goal is to establish a safe zone by cleansing a 4,000- to 5,000-square-km area of terrorists.”<br /><br /> The Turkish-backed forces are still a long way from Raqqa, which is largely surrounded by US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces.<br /><br /> In recent days Turkish forces claimed to have entered parts of al-Bab city centre, but the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists inside Syria, says Turkish troops have yet to enter the town’s centre, with the fighting still concentrated on its outskirts. <br /><br /> Ankara believes recent attacks in Turkey, including a New Year’s Day shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people, have been organised from al-Bab and Raqqa.<br /><br /> Last week CIA Director, Mike Pompeo arrived in Turkey in a bid to strengthen relations between the two countries.<br />
