46 ISIL militants ‘neutralized’ in northern Syria: Turkish military

ANKARA

A total of 46 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants were “neutralized” and 16 others were injured in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of the Euphrates Shield operation, the Turkish Military said early on Jan. 21. 

Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the militants in question were either killed, captured or surrounded. 

Turkish fighter jets also hit 21 ISIL targets, including 17 buildings used as shelters and two armed vehicles, in al-Bab, Bzagah and Qabasin regions, said a Turkish General Staff statement. 

The Turkish army is supporting Free Syrian Army fighters in their fight to liberate al-Bab from the jihadist group. 

The Euphrates Shield operation began on August 24, 2016 to tighten border security, eliminate the terror threat along Turkish borders, and support opposition forces in Syria. 

The Free Syrian Army is backed by Turkish artillery and jets as a part of the operation. 

Since the start of the operation, a total of 227 residential areas and 1,875 square kilometers (724 square miles) of land had been secured along northern Syria’s Azaz to Jarabulus corridor that runs parallel to the Turkish frontier, the statement read. 

The Turkish Air Force had hit 1,237 targets and neutralized more than 3,044 improvised explosive devices and 43 land mines under controlled conditions, the statement added.