A 25-year-old Turkish soldier has been killed in a bomb attack carried out by Syrian government forces in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, according to Turkish media reports on Saturday.
Ankara has sent major reinforcements to Syria’s Idlib region where the attack occurred as Ankara tries to stem rapid advances by Syrian government forces.
The Syrian government offensive in Idlib, the last major enclave of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, has driven more than half a million people from their homes toward the closed Turkish border, threatening a new humanitarian crisis.
The slain soldier has been identified as Mecit Demir from the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep.
Two Turkish soldiers were killed and five were injured on Thursday in an attack in Idlib carried out by regime forces.
Turkey, which already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees, says it cannot absorb any more and has demanded Damascus pull back in Idlib by the end of the month or face Turkish action.