Turkish strikes kill 48 pro-regime troops: Monitor

ANKARA

AA Photo

Turkish ground and air strikes on Syrian regime forces and their allies in northwest Syria's Idlib have killed 48 pro-Damascus soldiers in the past 24 hours, the Syrian Observatory, a war monitor, reported on Feb. 29.

It said that the Syrian regime and Russian warplanes continued air strikes on Feb. 29 on the strategic eastern Idlib city of Saraqeb, a focal point of intensified fighting in recent days between Turkish-backed rebels and Damascus.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Defense Ministry on Feb. 28 confirmed that 56 pro-regime elements have been "neutralized" in Idlib.

The ministry said in a tweet that the Turkish forces destroyed eight regime's tanks, four armored vehicles, five howitzers, and two rocket launchers.

A Turkish soldier was killed and two others were wounded in Idlib, during attacks by the Syrian regime, the ministry said in a separate tweet. 

The ministry said on Twitter that the Syrian regime forces were being targeted in the region, where Turkey has sent thousands of troops and military hardware to support rebels fighting against the Syrian army.