Turkey has sent military reinforcements to its southern border with Syria to commence what it called a “a serious operation” in Idlib.
Turkish media reports that a convoy of at least 12 vehicles, carrying 12 tanks and two bulldozers, was heading for the Cilvegozu crossing across Syria’s Bab al-Hawa border gate.
The convoy’s final destination was not immediately clear.
Idlib and surrounding areas of northwest Syria are among the largest bastions for rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but have increasingly fallen under the sway of jihadist insurgent factions.
A senior official of the Liwa al-Mutasem group says Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army says groups in the Euphrates Shield campaign are ready to cross into northwest Syria.
