Two Turkish soldiers were on Wednesday killed in a car bomb attack in northern Syria as the military seeks to help Ankara-backed militants capture a key town from ISIL Takfiri terrorists, reports said.

The attack took place in the region of the town of Al Bab, 25 kilometers from the Turkish border, which has become a key target of the army’s more-than-three-month campaign inside Syria, the private NTV broadcaster said.

Ankara-backed militants have since August captured Jarabulus, Al Rai and the symbolically important town of Dabiq from ISIL.

However, capturing Al Bab — where the Takfiris reportedly regrouped after fleeing an earlier offensive — has proved much tougher in an operation that has already taken several weeks.

After the lightning speed of the earlier campaign, the Turkish army has suffered increasing casualties in the fight for Al Bab, with most the deaths blamed on ISIL attacks.

Source: AFP