Turkey-backed rebels close in on IS bastion

Turkish forces and allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters have begun
an assault to drive Islamic State from the town of al-Bab in an operation that could foreshadow a push on the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa

AREAS OF CONTROL
Syrian regime and allies
So-called Islamic State
FSA / Turkish army
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) / Kurdish YPG – U.S. ally seen by Turkey as affiliate of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged insurgency in Turkey’s southeast for 30 years
Other rebel groups

Detail map
Mediterranean Sea
JORDAN
TURKEY
SYRIA
LEBANON
Damascus
IRAQ 
200km 120 miles

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says goal is to seize control of al-Bab before targeting Manbij and Raqqa
TURKEY
Azaz
Afrin
Aleppo: Russian warplanes resume bombing of besieged rebel-held east after three-week pause
Aleppo
Idlib
Jarabulus
Al-Bab
Kobane
SYRIA
Manbij
Euphrates River
Manbij: Recently captured from IS by YPG militia
Tal Abyad
U.S.-backed alliance led by YPG recently launched own offensive to retake Raqqa
Ain Issa
Raqqa
20km 12 miles

Sources: IHS Conflict Monitor, wire agencies