Contradictory reports as Turkey claims bombing Syrian troops
Turkey’s Defense Ministry said four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine others injured in intense shelling by Syrian government forces in Idlib earlier Monday.
Erdogan said, "We have responded in kind to these attacks and will continue to do so, whether it is with our artillery or mortars."
"We are determined to continue our operations for the security of our country, people and our brothers in Idlib," he told reporters in Istanbul.
The Turkish president said Ankara had urged Moscow which supports the Syrian army in the offensive "to stand aside" in the escalating conflict.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the Turkish military came under fire from Syrian government forces because Moscow had not been warned about Turkey's operations in Idlib.
Turkish air force planes, the ministry said, did not violate Syria's border and no attacks on Syrian troops were recorded. Syria's state news agency SANA, meanwhile, did not report any Turkish airstrike.
The Russian ministry's dismissal of Erdogan's claims prompted questions about what actually transpired on Monday.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in London, did not report a Turkish airstrike either and instead said at least six Syrian government troops had been killed by shelling.
On Saturday, Turkish-backed militants attacked positions held by the Syrian government forces northeast of Aleppo, said the observatory which is generally sympathetic to militants in Syria.
Recent major advances by the Syrian army in Idlib and assertions by state officials to continue the offensive until all dangerous terrorists are ousted from the province have seriously worried Turkey.
ME
