Pompeo Says Russia Behind Airstrike That Killed 34 Turkish Troops In Idlib

Via Al-Masdar News,

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that he believed that the Russian military was behind the killing of dozens of Turkish soldiers during an attack in Idlib earlier this month.

According to statement from Pompeo, he said he believes Russia was likely behind the killing of the Turkish soldiers, which was later blamed on the Syrian Armed Forces.

“We believe Russia has killed dozens of Turkish military personnel in Syria,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Reuters Tuesday evening. 

This attack later resulted in a large-scale retaliatory assault that was carried out by the Turkish military against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the Idlib, Aleppo, and Latakia governorates.

Furthermore, Pompeo vowed to provide aid to Turkey after the killing of its soldiers.

Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield on Feb. 27 after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike in Idlib province and after repeated violations of previous cease-fires…

Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides in Syria’s war, agreed on March 5 to halt military activity in the northwestern Idlib region after an escalation of violence displaced nearly a million people and brought the two sides close to confrontation. — Daily Sabah

“We are looking to provide aid to Turkey after the killing of dozens of its soldiers in Syria,” Pompeo added in his Tuesday statements. 

He also issued the announcement of new sanctions against the Syrian Defense Minister Ali Abdullah Ayoub, among the highest ranking individuals in the Syrian government to be sanctioned thus far.