Ten Hezbollah, Syrian Army Commanders Killed in Turkish Drone Strikes

Missiles fired by Turkish drones killed 10 high-ranking commanders of the Syrian Army and of its ally, the Lebanese Militia Hezbollah, while at a field meeting near the town of Zerba in southern Aleppo province on Saturday.

Turkish army has deployed dozens of its locally-made ANKA-S and Bayraktar-TB2 in its current conflict with Syria to take control of the strategic Idlib province, Al Jazeera reported quoting sources.

There is no confirmation of the killings of Syrian and Hezbollah commanders from the Syrian side or from Hezbollah which is very vocal if its fighters are killed vowing infinite revenge. Besides, the Turkish military too has not spoken of casualties from its drone strikes.

"Turkish drones flying over Syrian airspace is a tactical game-changer," said Can Kasapoglu, director of Security and Defence Studies Program at Istanbul-based think-tank EDAM was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

“This is the first time the Turkish army has used its Anka-S and Bayraktar-TB2 on such a scale and with such intensity,” said Kasapoglu.

The drones have not only hit positions and convoys of the Syrian government forces and its allies along the front line, but they have also penetrated deep into Damascus-controlled areas and reportedly targeted military airports near the cities of Aleppo and Hama, the report said.

Confirming the wide-usage of Turkish drones, Syria’s state-owned SANA reported that the “Turkish regime is relying mainly on advanced drones to support terrorists with cover fire and reconnaissance.”

The report also said that the Syrian Arab Army shot down three Turkish drones on Sunday. A day later, Turkey’s Anadolu quoted Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying that Turkish forces destroyed two Syrian Su-24 fighter jets, two drones, 135 tanks, and five air defence systems besides "neutralising" over 2,500 Syrian personnel.