Erdogan: Turkish forces close to taking Syria's al Bab

Turkey-backed rebels are just 2 km from the northern Syrian city of al Bab and are expected to take it from Islamic State quickly despite some resistance, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"The Free Syrian Army rebels, with the support of our special forces, is about 2 km away and the siege is continuing as planned," Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara before departing on an official visit to Pakistan.

"There is resistance now, but I don't think it will last much longer," Reuters cited him as saying.

Erdogan also said he was confident that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia would withdraw east of the Euphrates River from the city of Manbij on Wednesday or Thursday, fulfilling a long-standing Turkish demand.