After an unwarranted attack launched by the Assad regime, Turkey responded with heavy fire, hitting at least 200 regime targets with armed UAVs and ground forces, neutralizing 329 Syrian regime troops in the process, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Friday.
The attack was carried out despite the locations of Turkish troops having been previously coordinated with Russian authorities, Akar said, adding that no armed groups were near Turkish troops during the regime strike.
Moscow earlier said Turkish troops were "in the battle formations of terrorist groups."
Turkey early Friday carried out missile attacks on targets in Syria's central Hama, the northwestern towns of Nubl and Zahraa, and in the regime and Russian bastion Latakia in response to an Assad regime airstrike that killed 33 Turkish soldiers. With the attack, the growing alarm in Ankara over the recent escalation of tensions has reached a tipping point.
The minister stated that attacks on Turkish soldiers continued despite warnings after an initial strike, with even ambulances being hit.
Five helicopters, 23 tanks, 10 armored vehicles, 23 cannons and howitzers of various types, five ammunition trucks and unmanned aerial vehicles were hit by the Turkish army in response to the attacks.
