Thursday, March 28, 2024

Baghdad

Website: IS to get exit from Syria’s al-Bab in deal with Turkey-backed troops

 Website: IS to get exit from Syria’s al-Bab in deal with Turkey-backed troops

Rebel fighters stand with their weapons on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Rebel fighters stand with their weapons on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A deal goes into force within hours between Islamic State militants and Turkey-backed militias, granting IS a safe exit from the Syria city of al-Bab, Bas News said.

Quoting military sources within the Syrian opposition, Bas News said the deal between IS and the Turkey-backed Euphrates Shield operation troops allows IS to leave al-Bab within the coming hours towards the city of Maskanah in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.

“Groups of Daesh (Islamic State) have already begun to leave the town,” according to sources quoted by the website.
Euphrates Shield forces recaptured major IS locations in al-Bab in a major offensive late Wednesday and through Thursday.

Turkey’s military said Thursday Syrian militias it backs killed 56 IS militants around al-Bab on Wednesday.

Turkey weighed in the conflict in Syria last year to push away IS militants from al-Bab, a town located a few kilometers from Turkish borders, and to curtail gains made by Syrian Kurdish groups, most notably the Poeple’s Protection Units (YPG), the group which Ankara deems as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), its arch rival.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said earlier this month, however, that the main target of Ankara’s operation is not only al-Bab town, but rather the city of Raqqa, Islamic State primary and strongest stronghold in Syria.

Leave a Reply