Feb 24, 2017

Tens of thousands of Syrians have returned home from Turkey since the start of Ankara's military operation inside the country, Turkey's foreign minister said Friday.

"Nearly 50,000 Syrians have returned to this area from Turkey since the Euphrates Shield operation started," Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

He was referring to Ankara's ambitious military operation launched last August in northern Syria to help Syrian rebels oust jihadists.

They have recaptured several towns from the Islamic State group (IS), including Jarabulus and Al-Rai near the border after a lightning advance.

Earlier, the Turkish armed forces said the Turkey-backed fighters had "control of all neighbourhoods in Al-Bab", IS's last stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo.