A Turkish military convoy came under fire in Idlib today as Russian-backed regime forces pressed on with their offensive to rout al-Qaeda-linked rebel groups from the eastern half of the northwestern Syrian province. Idlib is one of the few areas to remain under Sunni opposition control since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency, a rocket landed just 20-30 meters (66-98 feet) from the convoy in the Darat Izza district and no injuries have been reported. Anadolu did not name the attackers and there have been no claims of responsibility so far.
In separate news, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the conflict, reported that the death toll from Sunday’s car bomb attack on the Idlib headquarters of a Chechen jihadi group had risen to 34, of which 18 were civilians.
Turkish troops moved into Idlib in October, ostensibly to establish observation points to monitor a cease-fire between the regime and the opposition and to ease the flow of humanitarian supplies, among other things, for millions of internally displaced Syrian sheltering in the province.
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