Coalition warplanes kill 20 Daesh militants in Syria

United States-led coalition warplanes killed 20 Daesh militants in Syria over the last 24 hours, the Turkish military said on Tuesday.

Turkey pushed on with the Syrian operation as Iraqi forces launched a US-backed offensive to expel Daesh from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The 11 coalition air strikes in Syria targeted the areas of Kar Kalbayn, Ghuz, Hassajik and Tiltanah and destroyed two Daesh defensive positions and three vehicles, the army statement said.

It added that Turkish warplanes also carried out air strikes and destroyed several Daesh targets.

Since the Turkey-backed operation was launched on 24 August, the rebel forces have seized control of some 1,240 square kilometres of territory from the jihadists, according to the statement.

According to Reuters news agency, Ankara has said thousands of Turkey-trained forces are also participating in the assault to push Daesh out of Mosul, despite a row with Baghdad over the presence of Turkish forces in Iraq.