7 September 2016, 15:50 GMT
ANKARA (Sputnik) — More than 100 terrorists have been killed by the Turkish armed forces since the beginning of the Euphrates Shield military operation in northern Syria, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said Wednesday.
"Over the 15 days of the operation, [the Turkish army] has liberated a total of 772 square kilometers [298 square miles] from terrorists and killed 110 fighters from the Islamic State group and Syrian Kurds' self-defense forces [People's Protection Units [YPG)]," Canikli told journalists.
According to him, five Turkish soldiers died and 19 more sustained injuries during the operation.
On August 24, Turkish forces, backed by US-led coalition aircraft, began a military operation dubbed Euphrates Shield to clear the Syrian town of Jarabulus and the surrounding area of Daesh, outlawed in Russia and many other countries worldwide.
Ankara declared that it would target positions of YPG which is considered by the Turkish government to be an ally to the domestically-outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) unless they withdrew to the east of Euphrates.
