Turkey sending 300 troops to reinforce Syria operation

Some 300 commandos are being sent to reinforce the "Euphrates Shield" operation, Anadolu Agency reported. It was not clear where in northern Syria they would be deployed and Reuters was not immediately able to reach the military for comment.

Turkey launched the operation in August, sending tanks, airplanes and troops to back Syrian Arab and Turkmen rebels.

After pushing Islamic State fighters back from Turkey's Syrian border, the Ankara-backed rebels have moved towards al-Bab, the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in the northern Aleppo countryside. Their advance potentially pits them against both Kurdish fighters and Syrian government forces.