US-led coalition 'kills 20' Islamic State fighters in Syria

Twenty Islamic State group fighters were killed over the last 24 hours by US-led coalition warplanes, Turkey's military said on Tuesday.

According to an army statement, 11 strikes targeted the areas of Kar Kalbayn, Ghuz, Hassajik and Tiltanah. Two defensive positions and three vehicles were also destroyed, it added.

Since launching Operation Euphrates Shield in late August, Syrian rebels have captured some 1,240 square kilometers of territory from the IS group, the army statement said.

These latest attacks on IS in Syria came as Iraq's government began military operations to dislodge the militants from their Iraqi stronghold of Mosul on Monday.

To this end, Ankara says that it has prepared thousands of troops to participate in the Mosul assault, despite Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi rejecting Turkish pleas for involvement in the operation.

Turkey has been excluded from joining the effort to retake the city where the IS-group proclaimed its 'caliphate' in 2014. The coalition involved in the advance includes Iraqi government forces, Kurdish fighters and over 60 countries who are providing aerial support.