MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Turkish armed forces have killed 18 Daesh militants and destroyed 18 targets over the past 24 hours as part of the Euphrates Shield Operation in northern Syria, the Turkish General Staff said Sunday.
"Turkish air forces killed 18 Daesh terrorists and destroyed 3 armories, 4 control points, 2 tunnels and 9 buildings used as hideouts, as a result of airstrikes in the Syrian towns of al-Bab and Bzagah," the General Staff was quoted as saying by the Haberturk media outlet.
On August 24, the Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield against militants of the Daesh group, which is outlawed in Russia and many other countries. Turkish forces, with assistance from Syrian opposition fighters, occupied the city of Jarablus in northern Syria and are currently conducting its offensive on al-Bab. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the aim of the operation is to clear the region of terrorists and make it a safety zone for refugees.
The operation has been widely criticized both by the Syrian Kurds and Damascus, who have accused Ankara of violating Syria's territorial integrity.
