16th Turkish Soldier Killed in Syria’s Idlib This Month

TEHRAN (IQNA) – A Turkish soldier was killed in Syria’s Idlib region in a bomb attack by Syrian forces, the defense ministry said on Saturday, Turkey’s 16th military death during a month in which talks between Ankara and Moscow have stalled.

The rising Turkish military death toll, including two on Thursday, could complicate a possible deal to halt a spike in fighting in Syria’s northwest.  

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will meet Russian, German and French counterparts on March 5 to discuss Idlib, where Syrian government forces are pushing to retake the last large terrorist-held region after nine years of war in the country.

Turkey has sent thousands of troops and equipment to the region just south of its border to head off the campaign driven by Russian air raids.  

Turkish forces retaliated to the bomb attack Saturday and destroyed 21 Syrian targets, the ministry said, adding the soldier was a tank mechanic who died when transferred to hospital.

After Russian and Turkish delegations failed to reach an agreement in the last two weeks, Erdogan has promised to push back Syrian government forces if they press on.

Turkey has “determined our road map” for Syria after calls on Friday with Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, Erdogan told supporters in Izmir on Saturday, Reuters reported. “I expressed our determination clearly” to them, he said.

In Damascus, the transport ministry declared the main highway from Aleppo running through Idlib open to the public after it was recaptured in the offensive.

Taking back the M5 highway from insurgents marks a big gain for President Bashar al-Assad, as it restores state control over the route between Syria’s two biggest cities for the first time in years of conflict.

Syrian state media, citing a military source, said any breach of Syria’s airspace “will be dealt with as an enemy military target”.