617 square miles of N.Syria cleared of Daesh

By Selen Temizer and Levent Tok

ANKARA

Almost 1,600 square kilometers (617 square miles) of land in northern Syria has been cleared of Daesh terrorists as part of Operation Euphrates Shield.

In the last three days, Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army forces (FSA), have reached within eight kilometers of the Al-Bab district, in the northeast Aleppo province.

FSA fighters took control of five villages in Mare, northwest of al-Bab, and Manbij, east of al-Bab.

Operation Euphrates Shield was launched in late August to rid Syria's northern border area of terrorists. Friday marks the 80th day of the operation.