Alwaght- One more Turkish soldiers were killed and nine others injured in an attack in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.
Turkey's Defense Ministry said the casualties took place on Tuesday, adding that the latest death would bring the total number of Turkish soldiers killed in the conflict in the embattled region to 57.
The ministry also said 82 Syrian army targets had been struck after the attack on Turkish forces and that the area continued to be under fire.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said earlier in the day that the country's military had shot down a Syrian fighter jet over Idlib, where Ankara supports militant groups fight against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria's SANA news agency confirmed that a Syrian government plane had been “targeted” in the embattled region. Turkey shot down two more Syrian aircraft on Sunday.
Idlib is home to several anti-government militant outfits receiving Turkish support. The Syrian government troops and their allied forces have since December last year been waging an offensive to liberate towns and villages from the militants in the province.
Turkey has been manning a number of observation posts in Idlib since 2018, when it struck an agreement with Russia in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to cooperate to contain the situation in Syrian territory in the vicinity of the Turkish border. Since the Syrian army offensive began in Idlib late last year, the Turkish military has been building up its presence there.
Ankara has threatened to attack Syrian forces if they do not retreat from Syrian territory where Turkish observation posts are located.
The Sochi agreement required Ankara to oust Takfiri terrorists from the northwestern Syrian province. But, more than a year into the Sochi deal, terrorists rule supreme in Idlib in close proximity to the Turkish troops.
Turkey has deployed massive troops and military equipment in recent weeks to stop Syrian troops from advancing to oust the terrorists.
Syria has condemned Turkey’s cross-border offensive into the Arab country, which was carried out to allegedly clear anti-Ankara Kurdish militants from a sliver of land bordering the Anatolian country.
