Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD)

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.

Four soldiers were wounded during Operation Euphrates Shield in al-Bab in northern Syria late on Dec. 12, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The injured soldiers were taken to hospitals in Gaziantep and Kilis.
 
There were no immediate reports about the circumstances behind their wounding. 

The Turkish army and its allies entered the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) bastion of al-Bab in northern Syria on Dec. 10, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

"They entered al-Bab from the northwest after violent clashes with the jihadists as Turkish artillery bombarded the town," the observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman said, according to AFP.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said support to Turkey in its fight against terrorist organizations would contribute to the global fight against terror.

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. 

The U.S.-led anti-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) coalition stated on Dec. 8 that it was facilitating joint talks with Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in order to simmer down tensions between the two parties that are both fighting jihadists in northern Syria. 

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.

The United States will not give up its support for Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq despite Turkey's opposition, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Mary Beth Long has stated.

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.