ISTANBUL: The militant Islamic State group on Friday killed five Turkish soldiers and wounded nine others in a car bomb attack in a northern Syrian town, Turkey’s military said.

A military statement said the attack occurred in the village of Sulfaniyeh, near Al-Bab, a town that opposition Syrian fighters with Turkish backing are trying to retake from IS militants.

The new deaths raise to 54 the total number of Turkish losses since August, when Turkey launched its offensive in northern Syria.

IS said in a statement that one of its members blew up his motorcycle near an area where Turkish soldiers and Syrian fighters gathered in Sulfaniyeh. The statement said that the attack also damaged a number of vehicles.

Published in Dawn January 21st, 2017