Baku pays condolences to Ankara over deadly Syria attack on Turkish troops

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov has offered condolences to Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar and Chief of the General Staff Yashar Guler over the September 11 deadly attack on Turkish troops in Syria's Idlib.

"I’m deeply saddened by the news of the death and injury of servicemen of the armed forces of fraternal Turkey as a result of an attack treacherously committed in the Syrian city of Idlib," Hasanov said in his message posted on the Defence Ministry website on September 10.

He shared the sorrow and grief of the victims' relatives and expressed his "deep condolences to their families".  and wished "a speedy recovery to all the wounded [soldiers]".

"Your grief is our grief. I’m confident that the Turkish armed forces will successfully complete operations to combat terrorism," he added.

An attack on Turkish troops in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province killed two soldiers and wounded three others, according to the Turkish National Defence Ministry.

The assault happened following a search and screening operation in the Idlib de-escalation zone, the ministry said in a statement. It identified the dead soldiers as infantry non-commissioned officers.

In February last year at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an air attack in Idlib, leading to massive Turkish retaliation against pro-government forces.

Idlib is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria’s civil war and parts are patrolled by Turkish and Russian troops.