BEIRUT, Lebanon — A Turkish official says 29 Turkish soldiers have been killed in an air strike by Syrian government forces in northeast Syria.
The deaths mark a serious escalation in the direct conflict between Turkish and Russia-backed Syrian forces. The governor of Hatay, the Turkish province bordering Syria's Idlib region, said Friday other troops were seriously wounded in the attack late Thursday.
The casualties mark the largest death toll for Turkey in a single day since Ankara first intervened in Syria in 2016.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is holding an emergency security meeting in Ankara, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
