Turkish soldier killed in attack in Syria’s rebel province
Turkey’s defense ministry says a
Turkish soldier was killed in an artillery strike by Syrian government forces
in northwestern Idlib province, the country’s last rebel stronghold.
The strike hit a Turkish observation
post. This marks the first Turkish death in a Syrian government attack since it
launched an offensive to retake Idlib in April.
The ministry said late Thursday that
three soldiers were wounded in the attack and have been evacuated from Syria.
It says Ankara warned Turkey would respond with “heaviest punishment.”
Turkish troops man 12 observation
posts in Idlib as part of a de-escalation agreement struck with Russia and Iran
in September 2017.
A cease-fire negotiated last year by
Turkey, which backs Syrian opposition groups, and Russia, which backs Syrian
President Bashar Assad, collapsed amid the government offensive.
