Turkey says 2 of its soldiers killed by airstrike in Syria

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s Defense Ministry says two Turkish soldiers have been killed in an airstrike in Syria’s Idlib province. Five other soldiers are wounded in the attack.

The deaths bring to 15 the number of Turkish soldiers killed in Idlib.

A ministry statement posted today to Twitter says Turkey’s military is responding to the attack. It doesn’t provide further details, or say where in Idlib the attack occurred.

The ministry claims that as many as 50 Syrian government soldiers were killed and that five tanks, two armored personnel carriers and other equipment were destroyed.

The Russian military says militants in Idlib had launched a massive offensive on Syrian army positions near Nairab, under the cover of Turkish artillery, adding that four Syrian soldiers were wounded by the Turkish artillery barrage.

“The militants’ actions were supported by the Turkish artillery fire, which allowed the militants to break through the Syrian army’s defenses,” it says in a statement.

The military adds that at the Syrian military’s request, Russian Su-24 bombers then struck the militants to prevent them from advancing and allowing Syrian government forces to “successfully repel all attacks.”

It isn’t immediately clear whether it was the Russian airstrikes that killed the two Turkish soldiers.

— AP