24 February 2017•Update: 24 February 2017
ANKARA
Two Turkish soldiers were martyred and three more were wounded in an explosion south of Al-Bab, according to a military statement on Friday.
Explosive devices left by Daesh terrorists on a road out of Al-Bab exploded while the soldiers were on a landmine reconnaissance mission.
The statement said the wounded soldiers were brought immediately to a hospital but were not thought to be in a life-threatening condition.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim raised the incident when speaking to reporters outside a mosque in Ankara after prayers on Friday.
Yildirim said the northern Syrian town -- where the FSA, backed by the Turkish military, seized almost full control on Thursday -- was full of explosives and bombs, adding that an ongoing clear-up operation was proceeding with “great caution”.
Turkish soldiers were behaving very carefully to avoid these kind of incidents but unfortunately sometimes situations like this happen, he added.
Operation Euphrates Shield aims to provide security, support U.S.-led coalition forces and eliminate the terrorist presence along Syria’s northern border with Turkey.
The operation, which began last summer, relies heavily on Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and air support.
Reporting by Ferdi Turkten:Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet
