Illustrative image.
On June 23, at least two Turkish service members were wounded in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib by Syrian Arab Army (SAA) fire.
The Turkish service members were wounded when the army artillery shelled their post which is located on al-Barden hill in the vicinity of the town of Kansafra in the southern Idlib countryside. The post’s fortifications were also damaged as a result of the shelling.
Enab Baladi and several other Syrian pro-opposition news outlets said that the Turkish post was targeted with Russian-made 2K25 Krasnopol 152 mm laser-guided shells. These claims are yet to be confirmed.
اصابات بين عناصر من الجيش التركي نتيجة استهداف عصابة بشار الاسد بالقذائف الصاروخية تل بدران في بلدة كنصفرة بريف ادلب الجنوبي حيث تتمركز قوات تركية . pic.twitter.com/KGJ6QeByYg
— ميلاد فضل (@freeehsem) June 23, 2021
صورة تُطهر سيارات الجيش التركي أثناء إسعاف الجنود المصابين بقصف قوات نظام الأسد على نقطة لهم في كنصفرة جنوب ادلب. pic.twitter.com/N312zhJmKB
— IDLIB PLUS (@IdlibPlus) June 23, 2021
After the strikes on Kansafra’s post, the SAA artillery targeted the vicinity of a second Turkish position located near the town of al-Atarib in the western countryside of Aleppo. No Turkish casualties were reported there.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense is yet to address the SAA artillery strikes. Usually, the ministry acknowledges fatalities only.
These strikes were most likely a response to Turkey’s continues support for Greater Idlib militants, who violate the ceasefire in the region on a daily basis. Ankara’s support is critical for the survival of the militants, including those fighting for al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The terrorist group is the de-facto ruler of Greater Idlib.
