Turkish Soldier Killed, 4 Hurt in Attack in Syria

Turkish Army officers block the outskirts of the village of Sugedigi, Turkey, on the border with Syria, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018..(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Turkish Army officers block the outskirts of the village of Sugedigi, Turkey, on the border with Syria, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018..(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
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Turkish Soldier Killed, 4 Hurt in Attack in Syria

Turkish Army officers block the outskirts of the village of Sugedigi, Turkey, on the border with Syria, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018..(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Turkish Army officers block the outskirts of the village of Sugedigi, Turkey, on the border with Syria, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018..(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

A rocket attack on a Turkish military supply convoy in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province has killed one soldier and wounded four others, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Turkish forces retaliated to the attack by firing on targets they identified in the region, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It did not elaborate or say who was responsible for the attack late Monday, according to The Associated Press.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group, said a roadside bomb exploded when a Turkish convoy of seven vehicles was passing on a road between the border crossing point of Bab al-Hawa and the Syrian border village of Kfar Lousin.

The Observatory said one of the vehicles suffered a direct hit. Ambulances, it said, rushed to the areas to evacuate Turkish troops who suffered injuries.

It added that Turkish troops cordoned off the area for some time preventing people from reaching it.

Last year, Turkey and Russia reached a cease-fire agreement that stopped a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive on Idlib - the last major opposition stronghold in Syria.

Despite sporadic violations, the agreement has held since then.

Russia is the Syrian government’s main military ally, while Turkey has backed the Syrian opposition.



UK, Iraq Sign Security Pact to Target People Smuggling Gangs

Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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UK, Iraq Sign Security Pact to Target People Smuggling Gangs

Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Britain said on Thursday it had signed a security pact with Iraq to target people smuggling gangs and strengthen border co-operation, the latest in its efforts to crack down on illegal migration.

"There are smuggler gangs profiting from dangerous small boat crossings whose operations stretch back through Northern France, Germany, across Europe, to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and beyond," Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"Organized criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too," she said during a visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Britain will also support Iraqi law enforcement to tackle other serious organised crime, including countering narcotics, the statement added.