The army has stepped up its bombing of the northwestern enclave since Saturday when President Bashar al-Assad took the oath of office for a new term vowing to make “liberating those parts of the homeland that still need to be” one of his top priorities. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Two Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in areas of northern Syria under Ankara’s control to keep out jihadists and Kurdish rebels, the defence ministry tweeted Sunday.
The ministry said “terrorists” targeted a Turkish military vehicle on Saturday in the Euphrates Shield region south of the border, but did not specify which group they represented.
Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 in order to drive away from its border region Islamic State militants and Syrian Kurdish militia forces deemed “terrorists” by Ankara.
The Euphrates Shield region includes the towns of Jarablus and al-Bab near the Turkish border.
After the attack, “the terror targets were hit” in retaliation, the ministry said.
Ankara views Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as an offshoot of outlawed militants who have been waging a deadly insurgency against the Turkish state.
