Erdogan vows Syria will pay a "heavy price" for any attack on Turkish troops

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday vowed that Syria would pay a “heavy price” for any attack on Turkish troops, a day after five soldiers were killed in regime shelling.

“The more they attack on our soldiers, they will pay a very, very heavy price,” Erdogan told a televised ceremony in Ankara. 

He said he would reveal Wednesday the steps to be taken after the flare up in the northwestern province of Idlib, the last opposition bastion in Syria.

Turkey’s defense ministry said on Tuesday that Syrian government forces had left the town of Nairab in northwest Syria’s Idlib region and that one Syrian helicopter was shot down in the area as Turkey-backed opposition factions mounted an offensive.

Syrian government attacks have killed 13 Turkish soldiers in Idlib over the past week, prompting retaliation from Ankara. 

A Turkish official said earlier that the Syrian opposition could regain territory they lost in the region.

However, The Russian backed Syrian Arab Army on Tuesday retake a key highway, over which they lost control in 2012, linking the country's four largest cities.

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Syria Arab Army Retakes Key Highway