US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday condemned Syrian government attacks on Idlib province and reiterated US support for Turkey in light of Syria’s mortar attacks on a Turkish observation post on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
“The United States once again condemns the continued, unjustifiable, and ruthless assaults on the people of Idlib,” Pompeo said in a statement.
“We stand by our NATO ally Turkey in the aftermath of the attack, which resulted in the death of multiple Turkish personnel serving at an observation post used for coordination and de-escalation, and fully support Turkey’s justified self-defense actions in response.”
On Monday the Turkish and Syrian armies engaged in their deadliest clashes since Ankara sent troops to Syria in 2016.
Regime shelling of Turkish positions in Idlib killed at least eight Turkish military members, Ankara said.
Retaliatory fire from Turkey killed at least 13 Syrian government troops, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.