PM Imran telephones Turkish President, express grief over lives lost in Idlib attack

Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan via telephone on Tuesday to express grief over the death of several Turkish army men in an attack that took place in Idlib.

"In this time of distress, Pakistan stands with Turkey," he said, adding that "We stand with you in the war against terrorism."

Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield in Idlib, the country's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, announced late Sunday, days after airstrikes killed 33 of its troops in the Syrian city.

Read more: Turkey launches Operation Spring Shield in Syria's Idlib

Two Syrian Army airplanes were downed during Operation Spring Shield, whereas one of its own drone aircraft was shot, the minister said, adding that the Damascus government forces, as well as their allies, would be targeted.

Talks with Russia were ongoing in this regard, Akar noted, adding that Ankara hoped Moscow would help mount pressure on Syria to stop attacks by its army.

A monitoring group, on the other hand, said the drone attacks had killed 74 Syrian soldiers and 14 of the allied forces.

Read more: Troops attacked despite coordination with Russia, alleges Turkey

Earlier, Akar had confirmed that the attack occurred despite coordination with Russian officials on the ground and that they continued after a warning being made. Some 309 Syrian government's soldiers — backed by Moscow — were killed in retaliation, he had said, as per state-owned Anadolu news agency.