44 Daesh terrorists killed, 154 targets hit by Turkish military in al-Bab

44 Daesh terrorists have been killed, 117 terrorists have been injured in the operation carried out by the Turkish military to liberate Syria's al-Bab, the military said on Wednesday.

On the 127^th day of Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish military has targeted 154 positions belonging to the terrorists and destroyed shelters, defense positions and headquarters used by Daesh, as well as a bomb-laden vehicle belonging to the terrorists.

Since the launch of the Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish explosive ordnance disposal teams neutralized 2392 handmade explosives in areas cleaned from Daesh.

The operation on al-Bab was launched as part of Operation Euphrates Shield, launched on Aug. 24, which aims to eliminate terror threats to Turkey's southern borders posed by Daesh and PKK's Syrian offshoots, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Located 30 kilometers from the Turkish border, al-Bab used to be home to around 64,000 people, mainly Sunni Arabs, before the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.

Operation Euphrates Shield has been pushing southward to clear Daesh from al-Bab, forming a 5,000-square-kilometer terror-free zone comprising the towns of al-Bab, al-Rai, Azaz, Jarablus and Manbij.

The terror-free corridor will ensure security for Turkey's southern border with Syria, while also providing a safe shelter for locals in the region, which would stop the mass influx of refugees coming into Turkey.

The operation is also meant to keep the town safe from Assad regime forces and PKK/PYD terrorists, who seek to create a "state" in northern Syria.