Three Turkish soldiers killed in regime attack in Syria: Military
Three Turkish soldiers were killed in an air attack by Syrian regime forces in Aleppo province on Nov. 24, the Turkish Armed Forces has announced.
Ten soldiers were also wounded in the attack on the 93rd day of Turkey's Euphrates Shield Operation, it stated.
The bodies of the killed soldiers were transferred to border province of Gaziantep.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım were both informed about the attack by Defense Minister Fikri Işık and Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar.
Meanwhile, Turkey's media watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), has announced that a gag order on reporting of the airstrike has been issued by the Prime Minister's office.
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also warned that the air strike could drag Turkey into a "perilous process" and urged the government to act with discretion.
The commander of Turkey's special forces for the Euphrates Shield Operation, Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakallı, also visited the wounded soldiers accompanied by Kilis Governor İsmail Çataklı.
The attack marks the first intervention by Syrian regime forces targeting Turkish soldiers since the launch of the operation with Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters to clear Syria's northern border area of terrorist groups.
The air strike brings the number of Turkish casualties in the Euphrates Shield operation to 16, 12 of whom were killed in ISIL attacks and one of whom was killed accidentally.
In addition, Turkish warplanes conducted an airstrike against 14 ISIL targets in the al-Bab, Kabbasin, Bzagah and Arimah regions, destroying one command center and seven defense positions belonging to ISIL militants.
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