Islamic State’s last stronghold in Aleppo province falls to Turkish-backed rebels

“After we seized Al-Bab, we reached the goals we set at the beginning of the operation”, Akar said.

Turkish forces killed 56 Islamic State fighters Wednesday in Syria in the latest successful operation against the militant group. “There were bodies everywhere”.

The Turkey-backed rebels drove the so-called Islamic State from the town of al-Bab on Thursday, following weeks of street battles near where Ankara wants to establish a safe zone for civilians.

A source close to Euphrates Shield said the rebels had yet to conduct minesweeping operations to clear out booby traps and explosives as well as sleeper cells left behind by Islamic State, and to begin bringing back basic services to the war-torn town.

The Turkish military reports the ISIS stronghold of Al-Bab has been fully seized from terrorist control, according to a statement which comes hours after two vehicle bombs claimed nearly 70 lives in its vicinity.

Hours later, a second explosion – the one in which the two Turkish soldiers were killed – was reported south of al-Bab, Turkey’s military said.

It represented a major escalation for Turkey in the Syria conflict, and was meant to clear ISIS militants from the border area.

Rebels launched an offensive to capture the town previous year with the support of Turkish ground troops, artillery and air strikes. Sousian village is a few miles from al-Bab.

“These people have suffered a lot.it was very hard, and they have been waiting for this moment” to return home, al-Tawil said.

Rebel forces were still facing “a lot of risky work ahead”, a Turkish defense official told Al Jazeera. Also, according to a TSK statement, a 2,225-square-kilometer area has been liberated and is now under the control of the FSA.

The Suicide bomber had targetted a checkpoint in the village of Sousian, northwest of al-Bab which was crowded with civillians.

“The situation in al-Bab is not stable”, Issa Khider, a local activist, said Friday.

It has also driven a wedge between Turkey and the United States, which initially backed a Kurdish-led force to retake the northern border town.