Turkey says it retaliated attack on troops in Idlib

ANKARA

Turkey's presidential spokesman condemned Monday's attack by the Syrian regime forces in Idlib which left five Turkish soldiers martyred and as many injured.

Ibrahim Kalin said in a tweet that this heinous attack was immediately retaliated and the regime's targets were hit.

He wished Allah's mercy upon the martyrs and speedy recovery to the wounded.

"The blood of our martyrs will not go wasted," he added.

The Turkish troops are in northwestern Syria, just across the Turkish border, as part of an anti-terror and peace mission.

Idlib has been a stronghold of the opposition and anti-government armed groups since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

But more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in attacks by regime and Russian forces since then, flouting both the 2018 cease-fire and a new one that started on Jan. 12.

More than 1.5 million Syrians have moved toward the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the past year.

Turkey remains the country with most refugees in the world, hosting over 3.7 million migrants since the start of the Syrian civil war.

*Writing by Fahri Aksut