At least five Turkish soldiers were killed by artillery fire from the Bashar al-Assad regime which targeted Turkish positions in Idleb province in northwestern Syria, the Turkish ministry of Defense, Monday, February 10. The latter said that five other soldiers had been injured and that Turkish forces had replied to the attack.

These exchanges of fire take place while a delegation sent by Russia, a country which supports the Damascus regime, is currently in Ankara to discuss the situation in Idleb.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), the regime's bombings targeted Turkish soldiers deployed at the Taftanaz air base. The OSDH did not give an assessment.

Second attack in two weeks

Last week, eight Turkish military personnel were killed by Syrian bombing in Idleb, causing tensions to escalate. Turkey had responded with heavy bombing, killing at least 13 Syrian soldiers, and threatened the Damascus forces with further reprisals in the event of a new attack.

Turkish Presidency director of communications Fahrettin Altun said on Monday a "vile attack" against Turkish forces in Idleb province.

"After the attack, there is an equivalent response. The enemy targets were immediately destroyed and the blood of our martyrs was not without revenge," he added.

According to the Turkish media, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met after the attack with his Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar.

Towards a new escalation?

This attack risks provoking a new escalation between Turkey and the Syrian regime.

After an exchange of fire last week, President Erdogan had ordered Syria to back off into Idleb province, and asked Moscow to do more to control the regime's forces.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people since 2011 and thrown more than half the pre-war population, more than 20 million, on the road to exile.

The situation in Idleb is of particular concern to Ankara due to its proximity to the Turkish border. Authorities fear that a large-scale offensive will spark a new wave of migration to Turkey, a country where more than 3.5 million Syrians have already found refuge since the start of the conflict.

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