Military history of Syria

Syrian government troops entered a strategic town in the country's last rebel stronghold on Feb. 6 after fierce clashes with opposition fighters.

A Russian delegation is expected to visit Turkey in the wake of a Syrian regime attack on Turkish troops in Idlib, Turkish foreign minister said on Feb. 6.

The Assad regime must fall back from Turkey's observation posts in northwestern Syria this month or Turkey will force the issue, said the Turkish president on Feb. 5.

"If the Syrian regime will not retreat from Turkish observation posts in Idlib in February, Turkey will be obliged to do so itself," Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his party's lawmakers in parliament.

U.S. Secretary of State on Feb. 4 offered condolences for Turkish troops killed by Syrian regime shelling in Idlib and reiterated Washington's support amid clashes with regime forces.

Mike Pompeo called the attack on Turkish observation posts by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad regime a "grave escalation."

Turkey responded in kind to a regime attack against a Turkish army convoy in Syria's Idlib and would not tolerate any future Syrian attack on its troops, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Feb. 4, accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime of "increasing insolence."

At least four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine others injured in intense shelling by Bashar al-Assad regime forces in northwestern Syria on Feb. 3, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

Recent attacks in Idlib province of Syria and the following refugee influx to the Turkish border are a national security issue for Turkey, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesperson Faik Öztrak said on Jan. 29.

Syrian regime forces on Jan. 28 entered a key rebel-held town in the country's northwest after surrounding it on three sides, sending thousands of people fleeing to safety in areas farther north, a war monitor and state media said.

At least five civilians were killed and 15 others injured in a car bombing in Syria's northwestern city of Azaz, local sources said on Jan. 26.

Russian warplanes have carried out fresh airstrikes in the de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, killing at least 12 civilians, a Syrian civil defense group said on Jan. 21.

The victims included nine members of a single-family, six of whom were children, in Kafr Taal in Aleppo province, according to White Helmets.