Turkish strikes hammer 40 Assad regime positions in deadly new Syria escalation
The latest clash shows the limits of Russia’s balancing act in the Middle East, writes Borzou Daragahi
A deadly confrontation between Turkish troops and regime forces in Syria has threatened to unravel a delicate detente brokered by Russia, and add a new dimension to the already calamitous nine-year Syrian war.
On Monday, Turkey’s armed forces hammered at 40 military positions held by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in the northwest of the country and as far east as Ain al-Issa, north of Raqqa, following an attack on a Turkish outpost that killed five soldiers and a civilian.
Turkey claimed to have killed up to 35 Syrian government troops in howitzer artillery fire and F-16 airstrikes. It described the violence as retaliation for the attack on one of its outposts in Idlib province, the war-ravaged corner of the country where rebels have for years been battling the Assad regime. Turkey has also dispatched half a dozen military convoys into northwest Syria to bolster its positions, and resupplied allied Syrian rebel fighters with fresh ammunition and other weaponry, said a military expert.
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