ANKARA, Turkey — Atleast 33 Turkish Military soldiers martyred in one of the worst ever airstrike from Syrian government.
The death toll from a Syrian government airstrike on its forces in northwestern Syria the previous night to 33 Turkish troops, the highest number of Turkish soldiers killed in a single day since Ankara first intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2016.
The deaths, which came in an attack late Thursday, were a serious escalation in the direct conflict between Turkish and Russia-backed Syrian forces that has been waged since early February.
The earlier reported death toll was 29 troops.
Rhami Dogan, the governor of Turkey’s Hatay province bordering Syria’s Idlib region, said 32 wounded troops were being treated in hospitals.
Turkey has had 54 soldiers killed in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province since the beginning of February, including the latest fatalities.
Turkey is a main backer of the Syrian opposition while Russia has been giving military support to the weekslong Syrian government offensive in Idlib that has displaced about 950,000 people and left hundreds of civilians dead.