BALADI NEWS
Russia and Syrian regime carried out airstrikes in the Idlib de-escalation zone, northwestern Syria, killing at least 15 civilians, a Syrian civil defence group announced on Thursday, as Turkey sent more reinforcements into the region, setting up new positions in an attempt to stop a regime offensive.
The White Helmets civil defence group said 15 civilians were killed after airstrikes targeted Idlib's city center and villages.
Syrian regime forces were also locked in clashes with militants and allied rebels in a key highway town in northwest Syria, a monitor said, despite Turkey warning pro-regime militants to back off.
"Fighting is ongoing in the south of the town of Saraqeb," war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Ankara sent in reinforcements north of the town of Saraqeb overnight, a move that came after the Syrian regime targeted Turkish observation posts killing seven Turkish soldiers and a Turkish civilian member of the military on Monday.
Ankara said it targeted more than 50 regime positions eliminating over 70 regime personnel in retaliatory attacks.
In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry announced that Russian "specialists" have been killed in a northern Syrian province alongside Turkish servicemen, without saying when the incident occurred. The ministry blamed "terrorists" for the deaths, saying that the attacks in Idlib province intensified in January.
Syrian regime troops have been advancing since December into the country’s last rebel stronghold, which spans across the Idlib province and parts of nearby Aleppo region.
Turkish troops are deployed in some of those rebel-held areas to monitor a ceasefire that has been continuously violated by the regime.
Source: TRT World.