Turkish Air Force Eliminates Senior Daesh Commander Near al-Bab in Syria

ANKARA (Sputnik) — Local Daesh jihadist group commander Abu Halid Urduni was killed as a result of Turkish airstrikes carried out in the area of the Syrian town of al-Bab on Friday, a military source told Sputnik on Sunday.

"The so-called Daesh governor in al-Bab was killed on February 3 among 32 terrorists eliminated as a result of the airstrikes carried out by the Turkish Air Force. This fact is confirmed by the radio intercepts of terrorists' conversations," the source said.

The source added that an intercepted message, which was sent from a Daesh leader in Raqqa to Urduni, congratulated him on the appointment as a governor and contained recommendations on finding and punishing the traitors, who were guilty of losses among Daesh fighters during the last week in al-Bab.

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.