Turkey retaliates against regime attack in Syria's Idlib

ANKARA

Bashar al-Assad regime forces attacked a Turkish observation point in Syria and it was retaliated with heavy weapons, Turkish Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

In a statement, the ministry said regime forces launched an artillery attack from Idlib region's Tall Bazan area to Murak area, where a Turkish observation point is situated.

It said the regime attack was "deliberate" and was retaliated with heavy weapons.

Partial material damage was reported, but without casualties.

The statement said necessary initiatives were taken with Moscow and the situation was being followed closely.

On Saturday, the Turkish military sent reinforcements to another observation point in Idlib near Zawiya, which was targeted by regime forces last week and left three Turkish soldiers wounded.

Although Turkey and Russia have agreed to stop acts of aggression and turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone, the Syrian regime has consistently violated the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.