'20 Daesh' killed in airstrikes in northern Syria

ANKARA (AA) – A total of 20 Daesh terrorists were killed in 11 airstrikes carried out by U.S.-led coalition forces in northern Syria Tuesday, according to a Turkish military source.

In an emailed statement to Anadolu Agency, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said the airstrikes targeted 88 Daesh positions in areas east of Azaz district of Aleppo, including al Jabriyah, al-Burhan, Vash and al-Ghuz neighborhoods.

Azaz is located in Aleppo’s northern countryside, just 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the Turkish border.

Turkish warplanes also participated in the airstrikes in the areas of al Mazraat, al-Uyun, Ghuz, Shudud and Haci Kusah, destroying Daesh’s two defensive positions, as well as the command center and arsenal, the source added.

In the last 24 hours, two opposition fighters were also killed and 2 others wounded in the clashes, while 150 neighborhoods were cleared of Daesh so far. No causalities reported from Turkish army, it added.

Tuesday marked the 56th day of Operation Euphrates Shield, which began on Aug. 24 and is aimed at bolstering border security, supporting coalition forces, and eliminating the threat posed by terror organizations, especially Daesh.

The operation is in line with the country’s right to self-defense borne out of international treaties and a mandate given to Turkey’s armed forces by its parliament in 2014, which was extended for another year in September 2015.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people are believed to have been killed -- and more than 10 million displaced -- across the war-torn country, according to UN figures.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, a Beirut-based NGO, has put the death toll from the five-year conflict at more than 470,000.