Turkey will not hand over al-Bab to Syrian government forces - deputy PM

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Claims that Turkey will hand over the Syrian town of al-Bab to President Bashar al-Assad's forces after driving out Islamic State are not true, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told the state-run Anadolu agency on Tuesday. Syrian rebels, backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes, have been besieging al-Bab since December. Kurtulmus said the U.S.-led coalition had failed to give sufficient support to Turkey's operation to seize the town. (Reporting by Daren Butler; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Nick Tattersall)