Turkish president says troops advancing in northern Syria
BEIRUT — Turkey’s president says his troops and allied Syrian fighters have reached the heart of the Islamic State stronghold of al-Bab in northern Syria and will eventually march on the extremists’ de facto capital, Raqqa.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said IS fighters have begun deserting al-Bab, which has been under attack for weeks. 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.
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. The Turkish-backed forces are still a long way from Raqqa, which is largely surrounded by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces.
Last week, the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces launched a new phase in its Raqqa offensive, aiming to capture towns and villages east of Raqqa. The U.S.-led coalition has targeted several bridges across the Euphrates River in support of the operation.