Turkish armed forces and allied rebels have almost total control of the Syrian flashpoint town of Al-Bab after entering the centre of the former jihadist stronghold, the defence minister said Thursday.

"It's been a long time since we came to Al-Bab but today we can say that near complete control has been taken of Al-Bab and the city centre has been entered," Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency.