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ANKARA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Two Turkish soldiers were killed, 15 others wounded during clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants in town Al-Bab of northern Syria, Turkish General Staff stated on Wednesday.
The Turkish army stated that strategic hills overlooking Al-Bab were captured by the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army and clashes resumed for the full control of the town.
The statement said that 58 IS terrorists have been killed in clashes, airstrikes and artillery since late Tuesday.
The military operation pounded 254 IS targets including shelters, defense positions, command centers and tunnel entrances, the statement said.
The U.S.-led anti-IS coalition also carried out seven airstrikes in al-Bab region, destroying 10 shelters, a tunnel entrance, a defense position and an armored vehicle.
The Turkish Armed Forces launched the Euphrates Shield Operation last August against both the IS and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the military wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).
Turkey regards the YPG and the PYD as terrorist organizations due to their links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.
