One Turkish soldier killed, one wounded in new attack in Idlib

One Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in shelling by Syrian government forces in Idlib, Turkish Defense Ministry said late on March 2.

Duvar English

One Turkish soldier was killed and one was wounded in shelling by Syrian gov’t forces in Idlib, Turkish Defense Ministry said late on March 2.

The ministry said that the Syrian government forces were being targeted in the region, where Turkey has sent thousands of troops and military hardware to support rebels fighting against the Syrian army.

On Feb. 27, at least 34 Turkish soldiers were killed in Idlib, marking the highest number of Turkish soldiers killed in a single day since Ankara first intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2016.

Syrian and Russian forces were flying together: Turkey's UN ambassadorSyrian and Russian forces were flying together: Turkey's UN ambassador

Syrian government forces entered parts of a strategic rebel-held town on March 2, and Turkey said it would keep hitting President Bashar al-Assad's troops after ramping up operations in its biggest intervention yet into the Syrian civil war.

Turkey and Russia, which have come closer than ever to direct confrontation in Syria in recent days, traded threats over air space after Turkish forces shot down two Syrian government warplanes and struck a military airport.

Fighting has escalated dramatically in recent days in northwest Syria, where Turkey has sent thousands of troops and military vehicles in the last month to counter Syrian government forces' advances in the last remaining bastion held by rebels.