Posted on 02/27/2020 5:36:51 AM PST by BeauBo
Syrian rebels backed by the Turkish military said on Thursday they had recaptured the strategic town of Saraqeb in what would be the first major reverse for the Syrian army in a Russian-backed offensive that had made swift gains.
Three weeks ago, the armed opposition lost the northwestern town at the junction of two main highways, following advances by the Syrian army in its push to retake the last large, rebel-held region in Syria after nine years of war.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into Syrias Idlib region in an unprecedented incursion to back the rebels against the offensive by Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces.
Nearly a million Syrians have fled over the last three months, the biggest exodus of the war.
The city of Saraqeb has been liberated completely from Assads gangs, said Naji Mustafa, spokesman for a Turkish-backed coalition of rebel factions, the National Liberation Front.
A Russian military source cited by Russian news agencies denied that, saying Syrian government forces had successfully repelled a rebel attack on the town.
...With Russian backing, government forces aided by Iranian militias have gained ground in northwest Syria since December.
...The push on Saraqeb comes ahead of an end-February deadline set by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for Assads forces to pull back from territory that Ankara says is part of a buffer zone agreed with Russia.
Erdogan has said Turkey would otherwise drive them back.
...Two Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike in Idlib on Wednesday, bringing Turkish forces deaths in the region to 18.
(Excerpt) Read more at hamodia.com ...
The latest prize:
Anti-American forces are pounding each other, while a small contingent of American forces are hundreds of miles away, peacefully enjoying the snack bar...
Syria ping.
The Turkish soldiers just killed, were killed by a Russian air strike.
Erdogan’s foolishness in committing his country to buying Russian air defense systems, should become more evident, as more Turks are killed by Russian Air strikes.
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