AlphaMonster 1,806 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 As part of Operation Euphrates Shield , Turkish-backed rebels(Free Syrian Army) captured Dabiq that was controlled by ISIS since 2014. Earlier this week, Turkish President Erdogan said that Dabiq and Al-Bab were next targets to capture from ISIS.At the beginning of operation, Syria looked like this: After capturing dabiq: Syrian opposition fighters backed by Turkey have taken control of the northern Syrian town of Dabiq from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group. The fighters said they seized the town on Sunday following heavy shelling and months of air strikes. Dabiq is considered a major ISIL stronghold with symbolic importance to the group, also known as ISIS. A commander of the Syrian opposition Hamza Brigade said ISIL fighters put up "minimal" resistance, before withdrawing in the direction of the much larger ISIL-held town of al-Bab to the south. Saif Abu Bakr told The Associated Press news agency some 2,000 opposition fighters pushed into Dabiq with tank and artillery support from the Turkish army. The commander said the ISIL fighters left the town heavily mined. Both Turkish and international coalition warplanes conducted air strikes on Dabiq and nearby Arshak, the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow, reporting from Gaziantep , a town along the Turkey-Syria border , said the rebels have not only taken control of Dabiq but also some towns nearby. "This is huge setback for ISIL because it is not only a strategic town but it also holds a huge symbolic value for ISIL," he said. "About 3,000 civilians have fled their homes as the rebels are now turning their attention to the town of al-Bab." Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said later on Sunday that Turkish-backed operations will continue until the border area is fully secure. "Strategically, it is important that the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army forces will continue their advance toward al-Bab, a key terrorist stronghold," Kalin told Reuters news agency. On Saturday, Erdogan had said in a speech that once the areas are retaken from ISIL, some of the nearly three million Syrian refugees in Turkey could return to their homes. Dabiq is central to ISIL propaganda, with the group citing ancient prophecy declaring the town as the scene of an apocalyptic battle between Christianity and Islam. The group named its online magazine after Dabiq, which it had occupied since August 2014. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/syria-war-turkish-backed-rebels-seize-dabiq-isil-161016093547972.htmlhttp://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-dabiq-idUSKBN12F081?il=0https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/16/turkish-opposition-fighters-syria-dabiq-islamic-state Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brizoda 4,178 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 good news Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luc 4,776 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Good but tbh Turkey could've done way more so far. I think it's more about securing the border and weakening Kurdish forces than actually fighting ISIS and Assad's regime. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melech 9,900 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 20 hours ago, Luc said: Good but tbh Turkey could've done way more so far. I think it's more about securing the border and weakening Kurdish forces than actually fighting ISIS and Assad's regime. exactly Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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