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ANKARA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- About 32 Islamic State (IS) terrorist were killed and 140 targets belonging to terrorists were hit in Al-Bab of northern Syria in recent military operations, Turkish General Staff stated on Friday.
Turkish artillery hit 119 identified IS targets including shelters, defensive positions, command and control buildings, weapons and vehicles, and Turkish warplanes hit 21 IS targets.
16 improvised explosive devices left in the areas cleared of the IS terrorist organization were destroyed by explosive ordnance disposal teams of Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters in the region.
Ankara has been pushing southward, supporting FSA forces as part of Operation Euphrates Shield, which was launched to clear IS and other terrorist organizations from Turkey's southern borders and form a 5,000-square-meter terror-free zone, according to Turkish Daily Sabah.
The Turkish Armed Forces launched the Euphrates Shield Operation last August against both IS and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the military wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).
Turkey regards the YPG and the PYD as terrorist organizations due to their links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
