Why the battle for al-Bab is pivotal in Syria - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Kamal Sheikho

Kamal Sheikho

Sep 15, 2016

TOPSHOT - Turkish troops drive their anti-mine Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) past shepherds on September 4, 2016 on a road near the Syrian village of Tuwairan, located around 2km of al-Rai, the small border town with Turkey.
Turkish forces and Syrian rebels expelled the Islamic State group from the last areas of the Syrian-Turkish border under their control on September 3, 2016, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. / AFP / Nazeer al-Khatib (Photo credit should read NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP/G — Turkish troops drive their anti-mine armored personnel carriers past shepherds on a road near the Syrian village of Tuwairan, located around 2 kilometers (a mile) outside the small border town of al-Rai, Syria, Sept. 4, 2016. — NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

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