Syrian government plane downed over Idlib – Turkish media

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Syria’s army declared the airspace over northwest Syria closed to planes and drones, pledging to down any aircraft that violates it, shortly before reports of the downed drone began surfacing.

JERUSALEM POST STAFF REUTERS

MARCH 1, 2020 12:26
Syrian President Bashar al Assad visits Syrian army troops in war-torn northwestern Idlib province, Syria, October 22, 2019 (photo credit: SANA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Syrian President Bashar al Assad visits Syrian army troops in war-torn northwestern Idlib province, Syria, October 22, 2019 (photo credit: SANA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
A Syrian government drone was downed in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency said on Sunday.
Minutes earlier, Syria’s army declared the airspace over northwest Syria closed to planes and drones, pledging to down any aircraft that violates it, state media said on Sunday, shortly before reports of the downed drone began surfacing.
“Any aircraft that violates our airspace will be dealt with as enemy aircraft that must be brought down,” state news agency SANA said, citing a military source.

Syrian state media denied the reports that a government plane was brought down and said the Syrian army had downed a Turkish drone over the town of Saraqeb in the Idlib region of northwest Syria.

Turkish forces have been hitting Syrian government targets in Idlib in the recent weeks. In February, a total of 55 Turkish soldiers were killed in Syrian government attacks, including air strikes, in Idlib.

The government forces’ air strikes are part of a major assault to capture the province, part of the last remaining territory held by rebels backed by Turkey.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he had asked President Vladimir Putin for Russia to stand aside in Syria and let Turkey fight Syrian government forces alone, after 34 Turkish soldiers were killed this week.

“We went there because we were invited by the people of Syria. We don’t intend to leave before the people of Syria say, ‘Okay, this is done,'” Erdogan added.

Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Syrian-government-place-downed-over-Idlib-Turkish-media-619366.

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