Click to see the full-size map
ISIS terrorists have retreated from two more villages southwest of the terrorist group’s stronghold of al-Bab in the Syrian province of Aleppo.
Last night, pro-Turkish militant groups, backed up by the Turkish Armed Forces, retook control of the villages of Tell Rahhal and Kharabishah, according to pro-Turkish sources [UPD: This has not been confirmed]. Turkish forces also continued to clash with ISIS units in the village of Seflaniye south of Qabasin and seized about a half of it.
The Turkish forces activity southwest of Al-Bab was likely aimed to build a buffer zone between government forces and the ISIS-controlled town.
Meanwhile, the Syrian army and the NDF continued attacks on ISIS positions along the Aleppo-Al-Bab road and south of the ISIS stronghold.
The villages of Arran and Alaoechih will likely become a mid-term target of the Syrian army in the area. If they are liberated from ISIS, the terrorist group’s forces in al-Bab will be cut off from the southern direction. This will play an important role in the long-awaited storm of al-Bab.
We recall, on January 23, the Russian Defense Ministry reported about joint Russian-Turkish airstrikes against ISIS targets near al-Bab, adding that the operation was coordinated with the Syrian military.
