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| AA photo |
Fifteen Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters have been killed in the last 24 hours during clashes in Syria as a part of the ongoing Euphrates Shield operation, the Turkish Armed Forces has announced, as clashes intensified in the region on the 41st day of the operation.
The military said in a statement that 15 FSA fighters were killed and 35 were wounded in clashes with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants by the early hours of Oct. 3. It added that the military had fired a total of 301 shots at 63 ISIL targets, killing militants nearby and destroying six vehicles, seven Katyusha positions and three tents spotted by surveillance vehicles.
FSA fighters engaged in heavy clashes with ISIL militants, especially in the Boztepe, Hardanah and Türkmen Barı regions on the Azaz-al Rai line, the military stated.
Ankara-backed FSA fighters have seized control in an area of around 960 square-kilometers in Syria since the beginning of the operation on Aug. 24.
Meanwhile, the Turkish military also stated that 13 ISIL militants were killed in 11 air strikes conducted by U.S.-led coalition forces in the Ziyadiyah, Bahrutah, Duvaybık, Aktarina and Türkmen Barı regions.
Four buildings, three vehicles and one mortar shell were also destroyed in the coalition air strikes, it added.
According to the statement, Turkish warplanes also destroyed nine buildings used by ISIL militants during air strikes in the Aktarin, Türkmen Barı and Dabıq regions.
The military said a total of 6,620 howitzers, 1,294 tank fires, and a number of rocket launcher and mortar shells had shot ISIL positions since the launch of the operation.
Some 28 mines and 993 hand-made explosives were destroyed under control in areas cleared of ISIL militants, it added.
