Turkey says conducted joint airstrikes with US-led coalition

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - Turkey's Army announced on Friday to have conducted joint airstrikes with the United States-led coalition on the Islamic State (IS) targets in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab.

The army statement reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency which did not specify a timeframe said the airstrikes and ground shelling were a part of the Operation Euphrates Shield on 203 targets which "neutralized" 47 IS fighters.

A daily factsheet by the anti-IS Coalition's Joint Task Force stated that near al-Bab, warplanes engaged several IS positions and buildings with four strikes on Thursday.

Although a member of the coalition, Turkey has been complaining of a lack of support from its allies in the now months-long campaign to capture al-Bab some 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the border.

Turkey's bid to take control of al-Bab along Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions which it supports originates from its concern the town might fall to the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and lead to the creation of a contiguous Kurdish-ruled region.

According to official numbers, at least 46 Turkish soldiers have so far been killed in clashes or attacks by the IS which has put a stiff resistance at the gates of al-Bab, denying the Turks an entry into the town.

When Euphrates Shield began in late August 2014, the US provided aerial support to the Turkish incursion into Syria, but after Turkey's attacks on the YPG, the cooperation ended in November.

In return, Turkish officials including the Defense and Foreign Affairs ministers went so far as threatening the US with the closure of the Incirlik Airbase that serves as a vital operations center against the IS.

Editing by Ava Homa