Sixteen Turkish soldiers killed in fierce Bab battle

A total of 16 Turkish soldiers were killed in an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attack on Dec. 21 in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab, as Turkish troops and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels battle to take the town from jihadists. 

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık parliament on Dec. 22 that the number of Turkish soldiers who had been killed in al-Bab the previous day had risen to 16, hours after the death toll was given as 12. 

Three other soldiers wounded in the attacks remain in critical condition, Işık said, adding that a total of 1,005 militants had been "neutralized."

The fighting came as Turkey and Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters faced increasing resistance from militants in a battle to take the key town ISIL-held town of al-Bab.

Four soldiers were killed in attacks earlier on Dec. 21, the army had previously announced. The 12 others were killed later on Dec. 21. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Dec. 22 that around 200 ISIL militants were killed in the latest clashes. 

"Our struggle is not an ordinary struggle. We have 16 martyrs; around 200 Daesh fighters have been killed," said Erdoğan in Ankara, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL. 

"We could not stay silent against those that threaten our country, and we are doing what is necessary," he added. 

The Turkish Armed Forces gave the death toll of ISIL militants for Dec. 22 as 160. It said all of them were killed either in clashes or air strikes. 

Five FSA members were killed and another 38 were wounded in the clashes, the military said. 

A total of 228 ISIL targets were destroyed, it added. 

The fierce fighting erupted as Turkish officials said the army was entering a key phase in...