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Did IS kill Turkish troops in Syria?

The Turkish government is remaining silent while some say the Islamic State — not the Syrian air force, as Ankara claims — was responsible for an attack on Turkish forces in northern Syria.
Free Syrian Army fighters walk past a Turkish tank mounted on a transporter in the northern Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, October 5, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSQWHS

The veil of mystery has yet to be lifted over an alleged airstrike on Nov. 24 against Turkish-backed opposition rebels in northern Syria that left at least four Turkish soldiers dead and several others wounded. The incident, which under normal circumstances would have led to a torrent of indignant chest thumping by Turkish leaders, appears to have been quietly buried, with no mention of it in today’s headlines. Its absence prompts the question, Why?

The strike was said to have been carried out near the town of al-Bab. The Turkish General Staff issued a statement the day of the attack in which it said the Syrian air force had been responsible for the assault, but did not specify the area that had been bombed. If the Turkish claim is accurate, it would be the first time that Syrian regime forces have engaged in a hostile action against Turkey since its forces entered northern Syria in August to battle Islamic State militants and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). The Syrian government has not commented either way.

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