Turkey responded to the killing of its soldiers in bombardment conducted by the Syrian army.

Turkey has launched a counter-offensive to avenge deaths of four Turkish soldiers in Idlib province. According to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, up to 35 Syrian soldiers were killed. The military operation continues. According to the Ministry of Defense, "multiple targets have been destroyed." The opposition-oriented Syrian Observatory for Human Rights spoke of six deaths and more than 20 injuries.

The Ankara government's attacks were a response to a bombing that left four Turkish soldiers dead. The artillery fire in Idlib province has reportedly injured nine more soldiers, one of them seriously.

The Syrian army is currently taking massive action against the remaining insurgents in the province of the same name in the northwest of the country. The regime's leader Mr Bashar al-Assad's forces are advancing with the support of the Russian Air Force and have already taken over dozens of towns, including the important city of Maarat al-Numan. Hundreds of thousands of people are on the run.

More than observers

Turkey, which has already taken in 3.6 million Syrian refugees, is also directly affected. The Turkish president had recently threatened a military offensive if the situation in Idlib was not immediately resolved. "We will do what is necessary when someone threatens our territory," said Erdoğan last Friday. This includes the use of the military.