Jihadists Kill 16 Troops in Turkey’s Deadliest Day in Syria
- Turkish soldiers hit by three suicide bombings in north
- Erdogan says Turkish troops, rebels fully besiege Al-Bab town
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Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels besieged the Islamic State stronghold of Al-Bab in northern Syria after three separate suicide bombings left Turkey reeling from its bloodiest day on the Syrian front.
At least 16 Turkish soldiers were killed and more than 30 wounded Wednesday in the suicide attacks, Defense Minister Fikri Isik told parliament, bringing the overall death toll to 35 since Turkey launched a ground offensive in Syria against Islamic State and hostile Kurdish groups in August. Nearly 200 Islamic State militants were also killed on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. The figure couldn’t be independently verified.