Beirut: Turkish bombardment of an Islamic State group-held town in Syria has killed 34 civilians in one day, a monitor said yesterday, but Turkey's army said only "terrorists" died in the operation. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead in air strikes and shelling on the town of Al Bab had killed 24 civilians — including 11 children — by yesterday morning.
Renewed bombardment later in the day killed another ten civilians, among them six children, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Turkey's army, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency said it had killed 15 "terrorists" in air strikes, artillery fire and clashes.
Al Bab is IS's final stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo and has come under fierce attack in recent months by Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels, fighting under the "Euphrates Shield" banner.
The joint force entered Al-Bab over the weekend, and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday that the town had "largely been taken under control."
