“Both sides are suffering losses, but Daesh is being hit the hardest. Turkish artillery and the FSA keep pounding their positions in the north of the city, even though in the past couple of days heavy rain and fog have prevented the Turkish Air Force from hitting the jihadists’ positions,” Taha Atraç told Sputnik Turkey.
He said the city was full of civilians who are prevented from moving out by Daesh fighters who are use these people as a human shield.
“That’s why we have to be very careful and make sure civilians are not hurt. Without all these civilians in the town we would have seized the city a long time ago. We still hope that within the next few days al-Bab will be liberated though,” Taha Atraç said.
He added that there were some 1,500 Free Syrian Army fighters taking part in the operation.
“We have reinforcements coming in each time we need them as part of this operation we are carrying out jointly with Turkish Special Ops units,” he added.
Al-Bab is one of Daesh’s last remaining strongholds near the Turkish border.
Capturing the city is of strategic importance to Turkey in order to prevent the Syrian Kurds taking it and unifying their own territories.
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