Turkish military 'neutralizes' 23 ISIL militants in Syria

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

A total of 23 militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including planners for the group, were “neutralized” in Syria's north during the ongoing Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield, according to the Turkish military

The Turkish Armed Forces said on Dec. 31 that Turkish jets destroyed 12 ISIL targets in al-Bab, Kabr al-Mukri, Bzagah, Tadif and abu-Jabbar along with 12 ISIL militants.

Other 11 militants were neutralized in ground clashes, the military said.

The operation focused on capturing al-Bab district of Syria, with intensified land and air attack, the statement said.

The statement added that on Dec. 31, a total of 172 ISIL positions had been targeted and besieged.

Again on Dec. 31, Turkish soldiers found the bodies of four ISIL militants while 4 hand-held radios, 3 Kalashnikovs (AK-47), a bixie machine gun, an RPG-7 and an armed vehicle were captured.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the person in question was either killed or captured.

Since the launch of Operation Euphrates Shield, around 1,300 ISIL militants and 306 militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Democratic Union (PYD) have been “neutralized.”

Turkish explosive ordnance disposal teams have neutralized 2,556 handmade explosives and 42 mines in areas cleared of ISIL since the beginning of Operation Euphrates Shield.