Idlib Battle Kicks Off as Turkish Forces, Al-Nusra Clash

A Turkish soldier stands on an army armored vehicle on October 8, 2017 at Syria-Turkey border at Reyhanli district in Hatay. Ilyas Akengin / AFP
A Turkish soldier stands on an army armored vehicle on October 8, 2017 at Syria-Turkey border at Reyhanli district in Hatay. Ilyas Akengin / AFP
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Idlib Battle Kicks Off as Turkish Forces, Al-Nusra Clash

A Turkish soldier stands on an army armored vehicle on October 8, 2017 at Syria-Turkey border at Reyhanli district in Hatay. Ilyas Akengin / AFP
A Turkish soldier stands on an army armored vehicle on October 8, 2017 at Syria-Turkey border at Reyhanli district in Hatay. Ilyas Akengin / AFP

Turkish forces entered Idlib in northern Syrian Sunday following clashes with militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), triggering the first signs of a battle announced two days ago by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to re-impose security in the province.

The two sides exchanged fire on Syrian grounds as Ankara deployed its forces at the border before an expected military operation to oust the Qaeda-linked militants from the province of Idlib.

Field sources at the border said that Turkish tanks offered a cover for Free Syrian Army fighters on Sunday morning while the Turkish army continued moving in the province of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Syrian border to help push its forces inside Idlib, part of a joint mission with Russia and Iran to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Syria’s de-escalation zones.

HTS is not part of a deal brokered by the three countries for the safe zone in the province, one of four such "de-escalation" zones across Syria.

Turkish armored vehicles and troops were waiting on the border, from where smoke could be seen from the mortar fire, an AFP photographer said.

Meanwhile, talks continued on Sunday among figures close from HTS in a bid to find an exit to the crisis.

Those figures want to allow the National Rescue Government led by its newly-elected president Mohammed al-Sheikh to become the civilian representative of Tahrir al-Sham and therefore shoulder the mission of negotiation concerning Idlib to keep the terrorist stain away from the HTS.

Separately, a final assault on ISIS’ last line of defense in its former Syrian capital Raqqa should begin on Sunday night, a field commander for the US-backed forces operating there told Reuters.

The assault on militants in the center of the northern city will focus on surrounding the sports stadium there, said a field commander in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in western Raqqa, who gave his name as Ardal Raqqa.



Israeli Military Says 3 Hostages Recovered Months Ago Were Likely Killed in November Airstrike

14 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians inspect their destroyed homes after the Israeli aircraft targeted an entire residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in western Gaza. (dpa)
14 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians inspect their destroyed homes after the Israeli aircraft targeted an entire residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in western Gaza. (dpa)
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Israeli Military Says 3 Hostages Recovered Months Ago Were Likely Killed in November Airstrike

14 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians inspect their destroyed homes after the Israeli aircraft targeted an entire residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in western Gaza. (dpa)
14 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians inspect their destroyed homes after the Israeli aircraft targeted an entire residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in western Gaza. (dpa)

The Israeli military says there is a “high probability” that three hostages found dead months ago were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The army on Sunday announced the conclusions of its investigation into the deaths of Cpl. Nik Beizer, Sgt. Ron Sherman and Elia Toledano.

It said investigations had determined that the three were likely killed in a November airstrike that also killed a senior Hamas member, Ahmed Ghandour.

All three of the hostages were kidnapped in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Their bodies were recovered in December, but the cause of death was only recently determined.

In its report, the army said there was a “high probability” they were killed in the strike, based on where the bodies were recovered, pathological reports and other intelligence. But it said, "it is not possible to definitely determine the circumstances of their deaths."

The conclusions could add pressure on the government to strike a deal to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Critics say it is too difficult and dangerous to try to rescue them.