Syrian rebels, backed by Turkish tanks and air strikes, have been pushing towards the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Dabiq, a village with symbolic importance to the jihadists, in an operation launched in late August, reports Reuters.
Fourteen of the IS fighters were killed as they attempted to enter the rebel-controlled villages of Akhtarin and Turkmen Bareh, three kilometers (two miles) east of Dabiq, the Turkish army said in a statement.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that IS fighters had captured those villages in a counter attack near the Turkish border.
Another 17 Islamic State fighters were killed in air strikes by coalition warplanes in the same areas, the military said in its daily round-up on the operation, dubbed "Euphrates Shield".
It said two Syrian rebels had been killed and 19 wounded in the latest fighting against IS. The operation has also targeted a Kurdish militia whose presence along its border Turkey sees as a threat.