Turkey-backed militants captured the emblematic northern Syrian town of Dabiq from the ISIL Takfiri group on Sunday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Turkish state media and a militant faction said militants backed by Turkish warplanes and artillery had seized control of Dabiq on Sunday.
The town, in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, is of little strategic value.
But Dabiq holds crucial ideological importance for ISIL and its followers because of a Sunni prophecy that states it will be the site of an apocalyptic battle between Christian forces and Muslims.
The Observatory, a Britain-based monitoring group, said Turkey-backed militants “captured Dabiq after ISIL members withdrew from the area”.
The Fastaqim Union, an Ankara-backed militant faction involved in the battle, said Dabiq had fallen “after fierce clashes”.
The Observatory said fighters also captured the nearby town of Sawran.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency also said the Turkey-backed militants had taken control of Dabiq and Sawran and were working to dismantle explosives laid by retreating ISIL insurgents.
said nine Turkey-backed militants were killed and 28 wounded during clashes on Saturday.
Source: AFP
