Several military aircraft reportedly took off from at Diyarbakir Air Base in Diyarbakir, Turkey and soon started shelling the village of Misherfeh in Ein-Issa countryside, northern Raqqa in Syria, local television channels reported.
The Diyarbakır is home to the 8th Air Wing of the 2nd Air Force Command (Hava Kuvvet Komutanligi) of the Turkish Air Force, located in the South East of Turkey. The headquaters of the second Tactical Air Force Command in Diyarbakir has the responsibility of three airbases in the east of Turkey.
Aggressive remarks of Erdogan
Last Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the military will strike Syrian government forces by air or ground if any Turkish soldier is hurt. He declared that Turkey is determined to push Syrian government forces beyond Turkish observation posts in the northwestern Idlib region by the end of February.
Violence has flared in Idlib, just south of Turkey's border, in recent weeks as government forces backed by Russia and Iran have made gains in their campaign to eliminate the last insurgent bastion after the country's nine year war.
Turkey, which is allied with some rebel groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, mounted a counter attack on Tuesday after 13 Turkish military personnel were killed by Syrian shelling in Idlib in the last 10 days.
Attacks or counter attacks?
"If there is the smallest injury to our soldiers on the observation posts or other places, I am declaring from here that we will hit the regime forces everywhere from today, regardless of Idlib's borders or the lines of the Sochi agreement," Erdogan said, referring to a 2018 ceasefire accord.
"We will do this by any means necessary, by air or ground, without hesitating, without allowing for any stalling," he told members of his AK Party in Ankara. Russia, which has an air base in Syria, has controlled Idlib's air space for several years.
Strained ties with Russia
The Turkish military casualties have strained ties between Ankara and Moscow. The TASS news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan agreed in a phone call that the sides would continue contacts on Syria.
Erdogan said Turkey-backed rebels have mobilized to push Syrian government forces out of Idlib, but added they must remain disciplined. "We have given the message that we will act without compromise to those from the opposition groups who act in an undisciplined way and give the regime an excuse to attack," he said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
