Turkey not to go further than al-Bab: Erdogan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - Turkish army's incursion in northern Syria would come to a halt once the Islamic State (IS)-held Syrian town of al-Bab in Aleppo is taken, suggested President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.

"It is necessary to finish the job there promptly and not to go deeper," Erdogan told journalists about Turkish army's now months-long operation to capture al-Bab, while on his plane returning from a trip to eastern Africa.

Erdogan previously in November 2016 vowed to take the Kurdish-held town of Manbij and even march on to the de facto IS capital of Raqqa as a part of the "Operation Euphrates Shield" that began in August.

Turkish President did not explain whether his remarks meant he has given up on fighting the Kurds in Manbij.

Turkish Army and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) units it supports have been stalled by an IS resistance at the northern and western gates of al-Bab for more than two months.

A lack of the US-led coalition air support complained of by Erdogan has also contributed to the Turkish failure in capturing al-Bab so far.

Another reason for the stalemate in al-Bab was the nearby presence of the Syrian Arab Army in the south which could lead to a ground confrontation between the two countries.

Turkish President said his army was "already in confrontation" with the Syrian regime in al-Bab when asked about whether there was such a possibility.

Turkey launched its Syria incursion shortly after the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) took Manbij from the IS despite year-long Turkish threats and protests not to cross from Kobani to the west of the River Euphrates.

Conducting airstrikes on the YPG which it considers to be "terrorist," Turkey declared that its operation was not only aiming to drive the IS off its southern border.

Until now, Turkey has officially announced the killing in action of 45 Turkish soldiers in clashes with the IS.

Editing by Ava Homa