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Turkey's Darkest Night in Syria
(Al-Monitor) Metin Gurcan - On Feb. 27, a Turkish mechanized infantry battalion, comprised of about 400 soldiers, became the target of an airstrike on a road in southern Idlib. According to local sources, in a coordinated action, two Syrian Su-22 fighter jets forced the convoy to stop, with the soldiers taking shelter in several roadside buildings. This was followed by two Russian Sukhoi Su-34s that bombed the buildings, with two collapsing in the attack, leaving the Turkish soldiers under the rubble. Ankara's official death toll stood at 33, with 60 others wounded, but the actual death toll may be 50-55. After the attack, Moscow rejected Ankara's request to open Idlib air space to Turkish helicopters to airlift the casualties. As a result, the dead and the wounded were transported by road to Reyhanli, a Turkish border town 70 km. (43 miles) away. According to Russian media, on Feb. 27, Russian aircraft flying over southern Idlib became the target of intensive fire from man-portable air-defense systems, known as MANPADS, from Turkish military outposts in the area. Russian sources claim that more than 15 MANPADS attacks, carried out directly by Turkish troops, targeted Russian and Syrian jets.