Free Syrian Army

Clashes between Turkish forces and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants intensified in the central parts of Syria's al-Bab, where 14 Turkish soldiers and 138 jihadists were killed in fighting on Dec. 21. 

Clashes between Turkish forces and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants intensified in the central parts of Syria's al-Bab, where four Turkish soldiers and more than 45 jihadists were killed in fighting on Dec. 21. 

Preparations for a final operation by Turkey-backed rebels on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-controlled city of al-Bab in northern Syria are underway, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said after a cabinet meeting Ankara on Dec. 12. 

Nearly 1,000 ditches and a large number of improvised explosives and mines left by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in al-Bab have decelerated the entry of the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) into the city in northern Syria as part of the Euphrates Shield Operation, which started in late August, according to Turkish security forces.

A U.S. official has categorically denied recent media reports claiming that Washington was preparing to send Stinger missiles, an effective weapon in air defense, to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which Ankara considers a terrorist group. 

"It's not true," a U.S. official told the Hürriyet Daily News while commenting on reports that appeared in the media on Dec. 9. 

Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters have largely seized control of al-Bab-Manbij highway as a part of the ongoing Euphrates Shield operation in Syria, the Turkish Armed Forces stated on Dec. 9.

Forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad in Syria are about to gain control of the country's second city of Aleppo as rebel groups seek ways to exit their last positions.

The Turkish General Staff said its warplanes "neutralized" 23 ISIL militants in air strikes in the al-Bab city of Aleppo province in northern Syria between 10:05 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 7. 

Three ISIL shelters, three headquarters, two checkpoints, three tanks and a bomb-laden vehicle were destroyed in the air strikes. 

Turkish fighter jets have resumed air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) positions in Syria's al-Bab, destroying nine positions late on Dec. 6, during a visit by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım to Russia. 

Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes in al-Bab between 9:12 p.m. and 9:54 p.m. on Dec. 6, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.

Turkish authorities detained a total of 365 suspected Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants and arrested 131 in November 2016, the Interior Ministry stated on Dec. 1.        

The arrests and detentions took place in 12 provinces across the country, including Ankara and Istanbul, the ministry added.