ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's military said the Islamic State group has killed five Turkish soldiers and wounded nine others in a bomb attack in a northern Syrian town.

In a statement Friday, the military said IS terrorists had carried out the attack in Al-Bab, a town that Syrian rebels with Turkish backing are trying to retake from IS militants. It also gave the condolences to the families of the slain soldiers and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.

Earlier, Turkish armed forces said they had hit more than 200 Islamic State group positions in northern Syria and killed 23 militants.

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said IS "is now fleeing completely" from Al-Bab.

The new deaths raise the total Turkish death toll in northern Syria to 54.