'24 Daesh' killed in airstrikes in northern Syria

By Mumin Altas

ANKARA

A total of 24 Daesh terrorists were killed in nine airstrikes carried out by U.S.-led coalition forces in northern Syria Thursday, 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 74 Daesh positions in areas east of Azaz city, including Arshak, Suran and Ihtimalat districts.

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

An operations center of Daesh was also destroyed, the source said.

Turkish warplanes did not participate in the airstrikes, the source added.

In the last 24 hours, six opposition fighters were also injured in the clashes, while 132 neighborhoods were cleared of Daesh.

Thursday marked the 51st 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.