* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive
Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish
Releasing a statement earlier today (March 3), the Ministry of National Defense has announced that one soldier has lost his life and one soldier has been wounded in an artillery fire opened by the forces of Syrian army in Idlib.
While the Ministry has stated that infantry specialist corporal Mustafa Muhammed Ak has lost his life in the attack, it has been further indicated that "soldiers who were sent as reinforcements to Idlib to prevent conflicts came under artillery fire from regime forces."
"Turkey retaliated against the attack with full force and regime targets were heavily struck and destroyed," the ministry has added.
Defense Minister of Turkey Hulusi Akar has also posted a message of condolence on his Twitter account.
"We buried you not in the ground, but in our hearts. Turkey is grateful to you", the Minister has said.
CLICK - What Happened in Idlib in the Last Two Days?
The latest situation in IdlibThe forces of Syrian army have intensified their operations in Syria's Idlib, especially since the beginning of this February. A few weeks ago, the Syrian army took over around 30 residential areas around Maarat al-Numan, one of the biggest cities of Idlib. That being the case, some observations posts of Turkey in Idlib are now in the area controlled by Assad. President Erdoğan gave time to Syrian army till the end of February to withdraw from the deescalation zone. In an airstrike that targeted the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) on February 27, 34 soldiers of Turkey lost their lives. In addition to retaliation, Turkey made a call to its NATO ally US and "warned" Europe by opening the borders for refugees heading to Europe. Taken together, the attacks of Syrian army targeting Turkey have claimed the lives of 54 soldiers since the end of January 2020. |
(EKN/SD)
-132.jpg)
