Turkish forces have hit 115 Syrian government targets and destroyed 101 of them in retaliation for an attack that killed five Turkish soldiers in Syria’s rebel-held northwest, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Monday, according to Reuters.
The ministry said Turkish forces would continue to retaliate for any attacks on its troops, which have observation posts in the far northwest of Syria. Earlier, the ministry said Syrian forces had killed five Turkish soldiers, among thousands deployed there to help stem a Syrian offensive to retake the last rebel stronghold in the country after nearly nine years of civil war.
“As of the present time, 115 [Syrian] regime targets have been fired on, and 101 [Syrian troops have been killed], according to initial information from various sources,” the ministry said in a statement. “Three tanks and two mortar positions were destroyed, while one helicopter was also hit.”