• Turkish defense ministry retaliated against the attack and destroyed targets
• Turkey fears a fresh wave of migrants from Idlib

BEIRUT: At least six Syrian government troops were killed by Turkish shelling on Monday in the northwestern region of Idlib in retaliation for a deadly regime attack, a war monitor said.

The Turkish strike on regime positions south of the flashpoint town of Saraqeb wounded another 20 regime fighters, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

It followed Syrian regime shelling in Idlib that killed four Turkish soldiers, according to Ankara’s defense ministry.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it an “ongoing operation,” and said that 30 to 35 Syrian forces were killed in the counterattack.

He urged regime ally Russia not to stand in the way of Ankara’s response.

Turkey informed Russia of developments in Syria’s Idlib region, a spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party said on Monday, denying Moscow’s assertion that it was not informed of movements before the six Turkish troops were killed by Syrian shelling.

Russia, which supports Syrian government forces, later said the Turkish personnel came under fire because it was not warned about Turkey's operations in Idlib beforehand.

“The statement that Russia was not informed is not correct. Turkey is providing regular and instant information to Russia. It also informed them in this latest event. It is not true to say information was not shared. The mechanisms in place were utilised as always,” Omer Celik said on Twitter.

The clash is a rare confrontation between Syrian forces and Turkish soldiers who are based in parts of Syria’s north and northwest where Ankara backs a host of rebel groups.

It risks a serious escalation in a region that has come under heightened attacks by Damascus and Moscow in recent weeks, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

Erdogan last week warned that Ankara would use military force against Damascus if any of its positions in Idlib were threatened by attacks.

Turkey has 12 observation posts in the region as part of a Turkey-Russia deal to prevent a regime offensive.

Turkish media on Sunday reported that Turkey’s military sent reinforcements to the region to bolster the forces stationed at the posts.

AFP