Turkey-backed forces take control of outer districts of Syria's al-Bab: PM

Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces have taken control of the outer districts of the Daesh-held city of al-Bab in northern Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Wednesday.

"Currently the town is besieged from every side. The outer districts of the town have been brought under control," Yıldırım told a news conference in Ankara broadcast live.

The Turkish military has been surrounding the Daesh-controlled town of al-Bab for weeks as part of the ongoing operation.

Since the operation's launch, 3,719 handmade explosives and 57 mines have been neutralized under controlled conditions.

The Turkish-led operation, aided by the FSA, was launched in late August to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the threat of terror along the Turkish-Syrian border.

Operation Euphrates Shield has cleared a total of 227 residential areas and 1,875 square kilometers of land along northern Syria's Azaz-Jarabulus corridor, which runs parallel the Turkish border.

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