As UN talks take place, Syria rebels seize battleground town from ISIL

Turkish defence minister Fikri Isik said Ankara-backed rebels had 'near complete control' of Al Bab.

Opposition fighters backing Turkish troops gather on a road as smoke billows following an air strike on an ISIL position on February 21, 2017, in the Syrian town of Al Bab. Turkey said on February 23,Show more

AL BAB // Turkish-backed Syrian rebels said on Thursday they had fully captured the town of Al Bab from ISIL, marking a key defeat for the militants after weeks of heavy fighting.

It came as a fresh round of peace talks opened in Geneva between the Syrian opposition and regime, with negotiators coming face to face under the UN flag for the first time in three years.

Al Bab, just 25km south of the Turkish border, was the last ISIL stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.

“We are announcing Al Bab completely liberated, and we are now clearing mines from the residential neighbourhoods,” said Ahmad Othman, a rebel commander.

“After hours of fighting, we chased out the last remaining ISIL rank and file that were collapsing after the fierce shelling of their positions.”

Turkish defence minister Fikri Isik said rebels had “near complete control” of Al Bab.

“When the search and combing operations are over, we will be able to say that Al Bab has been completely cleared of Daesh elements,” he was quoted by state-run Anadolu news agency as saying.

The capture of Al Bab will give Ankara greater influence over the postwar shape of the country.

Mr Isik reaffirmed that Turkey was now ready to join any operation by international coalition forces to take the Syrian city of Raqqa, the extremist group’s de facto capital.

At his opening address in Geneva, UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura told delegates they faced a historic moment for Syrian people who “desperately want a resolution”.

Flanked by the two delegations at a vast assembly hall at the UN’s headquarters, Mr de Mistura spoke to diplomats from regional and world powers including the US and Russia, saying the talks were a window of opportunity to see if a political road forward could be found.

“The Syrian people all want an end to this conflict and you all know it,” he said. “They are waiting for a relief of their own suffering, and the dream of a new road out of this nightmare to a real and normal future in dignity.” He said a recent, fragile ceasefire “will face many challenges” and needed to be strengthened.

It was not clear if the two sides would meet for direct talks.

Meanwhile in northwestern Syria, the bodies of some 130 fighters shot execution-style or beheaded by rival extremists have been found in mass graves, a monitoring group and rebel sources said on Thursday.

The discovery comes nearly a week after clashes in Idlib province between the extremist Jund Al Aqsa rebel group and Al Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate and allied factions.

At least 131 bodies were found on Wednesday and Thursday in two separate mass graves near the town of Khan Sheikun, said the Observatory.

* Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press