Bloody day for Turkish operation in Syria as 14 soldiers killed

[TomSea]

Bloody day for Turkish operation in Syria as 14 soldiers killed
Turkey says 138 IS members were also killed in one of the worst days of the four-month Euphrates Shield operation in northern Syria

Clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and Islamic State militants intensified around the northern Syrian town of al-Bab on Wednesday, killing 14 Turkish soldiers and 138 militants, the army said.

The fighting, in which 33 Turkish soldiers were also wounded, is some of the deadliest yet in Turkey's nearly four-month-old "Euphrates Shield" operation in northern Syria.

"The operation to control al-Bab, which is being besieged under the Euphrates Shield Operation, is ongoing," the army said in a statement.

The military had said earlier that the anti-IS forces, which have been launching attacks on Islamic State fighters in al-Bab for weeks, had largely established control over the strategic area around the town's hospital.

Continued: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bloody-day-turkish-operation-syria-14-soldiers-killed-1116497476