Turkey soldier killed setting up military post in Syria

A Turkish soldier was killed in a rocket and mortar attack by militants in northwest Syria as Turkish forces were setting up a military post in the largest remaining stronghold of opposition to President Bashar Al-Assad, Reuters reported Turkey’s military saying today.

It was the second attack in a week on Turkish soldiers trying to establish a position near the frontline between opposition and pro-Syrian government forces, under a deal with Russia and Iran aimed at reducing fighting in the area.

That deal largely collapsed in December when the Syrian army, along with Iranian-backed militias and heavy Russian air power, launched a major offensive to take territory in Idlib province and surrounding areas.

Turkey said five soldiers were also wounded in the attack which took place last night and that Turkish forces responded with retaliatory fire. The armed forces did not specify who the militants behind the attack were. A civilian member of the Turkish contingent was also wounded, they said.

Read: In defence of Turkey’s Olive Branch operation

The army began setting up the outpost yesterday southwest of Aleppo city, the deepest position they have established so far inside northwestern Syria under the agreement with Moscow and Tehran aimed at “de-escalating” the violence.

Turkey, which supported rebel fighters trying to overthrow Assad, has worked with Assad’s main international backers Russia and Iran in recent months to try to stem some of the bloodshed in Syria’s nearly seven-year-old civil war.

But all three countries remain deeply involved in the fighting, and stark divisions remain.

Iran urged Turkey on Monday to stop its two-week-old military offensive against the Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria’s Afrin region, which neighbours Idlib.

“Turkey’s actions can bring back insecurity, instability and terrorism to Syria,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

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In Idlib, Russia has intensified air raids on opposition-held towns after jihadist fighters shot down a Russian warplane and killed its pilot. Iran-backed militias also helped the Syrian army advance in the region last week.

In a warning to Ankara, a commander in the military alliance supporting Al-Assad said the Syrian army had deployed new air defences and anti-aircraft missiles to frontlines with opposition in the Aleppo and Idlib areas close to Turkey.