The northern Turkish-led forces intended to capture al-Bab from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as part of the Turkish military intervention in Syria.

[12][17][18] On 14 November, rebel forces managed to enter the northern outskirts of al-Bab, but were facing stiff resistance, with fighting raging at a livestock market two kilometers north of the town.

[76] By this point, al-Bab was surrounded from the north and northwest, with the only retreat route remaining for ISIL to the southeast towards Raqqa, through the ISIL-held town of Dayr Hafir.

[13] The Turkish military stated on 18 November that the FSA had captured five villages in the Karadağ area of al-Rai district.

[84][85] Turkish officials initially stated the casualties were due to an ISIL attack, before blaming the Syrian Air Force.

However, the pro-opposition activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) disputed it was an air strike and stated it was in fact an ISIL suicide attack.

[89] The same day, the SDF, with support from government forces, captured three villages from ISIL west of al-Bab, coming within 10 kilometers of the city.

[93] On 28 November, the Syrian Army captured a village from the Turkish-backed rebels west of al-Bab, coming within 5 kilometers of the city.

[94] On 29 November, ISIL claimed it had captured two Turkish soldiers and their Turkmen translator near al-Dana village, west of al-Bab.

[100] The Turkish military dropped leaflets on al-Bab on 12 December, urging civilians to seek shelter as the rebels advanced.

[102] Despite this, Numan Kurtulmuş, the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, stated that preparations for a final operation on al-Bab were underway.

[114] The same day, the Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Işık stated that the Aqil Mountains had been cleared of ISIL.

However, despite Su-24 and Su-34 bombers carrying out airstrikes against ISIL fighters, Turkish-backed rebel forces were unable to maintain control over newly captured areas.

[59] A Turkish official stated on 29 December, that the Russian Air Force had hit ISIL in al-Bab for the first time, carrying out airstrikes against it in the southern part of the city.

[120] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed the airstrikes but stated that there was no joint operation between Russia and Turkey.

[127][126] However, two days later, Turkish Defence Minister Işık stated that the Turkish-backed rebels were fighting street battles against ISIL in al-Bab but had slowed down their advance in order to avoid civilian casualties.

[138] On 17 January, the Syrian Army launched an assault led by its Tiger Forces (capturing a village to the south of the city),[citation needed] the United States Armed Forces stated that they had carried out airstrikes against ISIL near al-Bab,[2] and Russia and Turkey carried out their first joint airstrikes against ISIL, targeting it in the suburbs of al-Bab.

[147] On the same day, Turkish deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmuş denied claims that Turkey would hand over al-Bab to the Syrian Army.

[156] On 1 February, the Turkish-backed rebels captured 2 villages to the southwest of al-Bab, cutting the main road between the city and Aleppo from another side in front of the recent advances by pro-Syrian government forces who had come with 7 kilometres (4.3 mi).

[158] On 3 February, UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujjaric estimated that around 30,000 civilians had fled al-Bab, and that 10,000 still remained inside of the city.

[162][163] Meanwhile, the Turkish military stated that Abu Khalid al-Urduni, ISIL's governor of al-Bab, was killed in clashes.

[5][166] They later captured a hill and many other sites to the south of the Kuweires airbase, extending their control over Sabkhat al-Jabbul and fully securing the road near it.

[167][168] Later on the same day, it was reported that the rapid Syrian Army advances had nearly encircled 5,000 ISIL militants within Al-Bab and its environs.

[65] During the night of 7 February, Turkish forces and rebels launched an assault at Al-Bab, capturing several strategic hills and breaking into the city.

[169][170] The rebels captured several other sites including Aqil Mount, the nearby hospital, a youth housing area and a local roundabout in the west of the city.

[183][184] According to pro-government sources, the rebels lost Qabasin again and failed in several attempts to recapture it, as well as Bizaah, but captured the Al-Rai and Al-Shehabi Farms at the northern entrance of al-Bab.

[204][205][206] Later on 25 February, ISIL had withdrawn most of its fighters from Tadef, although at the time it was unknown whether the town would come under the control of the Syrian Army or Turkish-backed forces.

[215] Additional ISIS propaganda images and video depicting several completely destroyed Leopards, some with their turrets blown off, were published in January 2017.

[216] Tanks which suffered the worst damage may have been destroyed by air strikes in order to prevent capture but sources generally state that the damage was caused solely with anti-tank missiles or car bombs driven by a suicide bomber (also known as suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive devices or SVBIED).

[217][218] In January 2017, the German newspaper Die Welt reported that ISIL fighters used 9M133 Kornet anti-tank missiles to destroy six Leopard 2 tanks used by the Turkish military in Syria.