617 square miles of N.Syria cleared of Daesh

By Selen Temizer and Levent Tok

ANKARA (AA) - Almost 1,600 square kilometers (617 square miles) of land in northern Syria has been cleared of Daesh terrorists as part of Operation Euphrates Shield.

In the last three days, Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army forces (FSA), have reached within eight kilometers of the Al-Bab district, in the northeast Aleppo province.

FSA fighters took control of five villages in Mare, northwest of al-Bab, and Manbij, east of al-Bab.

Operation Euphrates Shield was launched in late August to rid Syria's northern border area of terrorists. Friday marks the 80th day of the operation.