Syria air raids hit near Turkish military post

BEIRUT, Aug 28 (AFP): Air raids hit near a Turkish military post in northwest Syria Wednesday, a war monitor said, after Ankara vowed to take necessary steps to protect its troops deployed across the border.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes fired at areas surrounding a Turkish observation post in Sheir Maghar, located in the jihadist-run Idlib region.

The Britain-based monitor said it was not clear if the aircraft belonged to Russia or the Syrian regime, both of which have pounded Idlib with heavy air strikes since late April.

The raids near Sheir Maghar came after Syrian government forces surrounded another Turkish observation post in the nearby town of Morek last week, according to the Observatory, which relies on sources inside Syria for its information.

Days earlier, a regime air strike cut off a Turkish military convoy shortly after it crossed into Idlib en route to Khan Sheikhun.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said that the situation in Idlib had put his troops "in danger."