A Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander said Thursday (October 20th) his forces seek training to defuse explosives and booby-traps left in Dabiq by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Levant" (ISIL), Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.

"Olive gardens, homes, roads, sidewalks, even graveyards, are filled with mines,” FSA commander Abu Esed said.

The FSA is reportedly preventing civilians from returning to the area because of the dangers posed by devices left behind by ISIL.

Esed also called for help to restore damaged homes in the area and improve the humanitarian situation.

Syrian opposition fighters on October 16th captured the town , which is about 40 kilometres northwest of Aleppo, from ISIL in a short-lived battle.

Dabiq is of little strategic value, but holds crucial ideological importance for ISIL and its followers because of a prophecy that states it will be the site of an end-of-times battle.

ISIL's slick English-language magazine was even named after the town, which ISIL fighters eventually quit without fighting to the end, AFP reported.

The publication's very first issue in July 2014 focused on state-building and tried very hard to paint the "caliphate" as a credible entity.