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Al-Bab had been surrounded by Turkish and Free Syrian Army forces in the last 24 hours and troops have now begun entering the centre of the city.

More than 1,000 jihadis allied to ISIS - also known by the Arabic acronym Daesh - have been killed in the fighting and at least 16 Turkish troops also died while dozens have been injured.

Turkey’s army said in a statement: “Once this area has been seized, Daesh's dominance of al-Bab will to a large extent be broken.”

Some of the most intense fighting on Wednesday centred on a hospital area on a hill overlooking al-Bab that had been used by ISIS as a weapons and ammunition store.