Nearly 90 civilians have reportedly fallen victim to Turkish air raids in northern Syria over the past 24 hours as Ankara steps up its military campaign against what it calls Daesh positions there.
On Friday, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some of the raids hit the northwestern Syrian town al-Bab a day earlier, leaving 72 civilians dead, including 21 children.
Another 16 civilians, including three children, lost their lives in the Turkish assaults on Friday.
Over the past weeks, the Turkish military and the militants it is supporting have launched an offensive to seize al-Bab.
It is Ankara’s bloodiest attack since it began its intervention in Syria in late August.
Turkish troops are also in the neighboring country in support of the anti-Damascus militant groups in a mission said to be aimed at Daesh and Kurdish militias.
Damascus has slammed the Turkish military action as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty.
Turkey has long been a transit route for Daesh terrorists and other Syria-bound foreign militants seeking to topple the Damascus government.
Ankara has recently intensified its Syria campaign as foreign-backed militants have been taking heavy blows from the Damascus army on several fronts, particularly during the Aleppo battle.
On Thursday, Turkey suffered the biggest loss so far of its military campaign in Syria after over a dozen of its soldiers were reportedly killed by Daesh terrorists. The Takfiri group also claimed to have captured Turkey’s two German-made state-of-the-art Leopard main battle tanks.
Daesh also released a video of burning two Turkish soldiers alive, prompting Ankara to limit access to online social media.
Turkey has, however, remained defiant in its military push, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing to keep up the incursion.
The Turkish police are raiding the Incirlik airbase where the US-led coalition’s jets are based, Hurriyet reported.
