Turkish troops on Sunday exchanged fire with Syria-based jihadists as Ankara massed military vehicles on the frontier ahead of an expected operation to oust al-Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate from Idlib province. But Turkish forces fired seven mortars over the border with the aim of easing the passage of the pro-Ankara Syrian forces, the Dogan news agency reported. Turkish forces have also been seen removing parts of the security wall Ankara has built on the border so that military vehicles can pass through into Syria. ‘HTS warns’On Sunday morning, HTS jihadists opened fire on Turkish forces removing part of a wall along the border between Turkey and Idlib, witnesses and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. Television images showed locals in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province cheering as more armoured vehicles were driven through the town overnight.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 08, 2017 14:15 UTC