Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Seven people were killed in Turkey in a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck western Iran early Sunday morning, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.

The quake centered on the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van.

Soylu told a news conference in Ankara that three children and four adults were killed in Turkey’s Baskule district. Five injured people had been taken to hospital while others remained trapped under the debris of fallen buildings, he added.

22 Feb 2020; MEMO: Russian daily newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that Turkey has prevented four Russian military aircrafts, including two bombers, from crossing its airspace to Syria.

22 Feb 2020; MEMO: Two Turkish soldiers were killed and five more wounded by a Syrian government airstrike in northwestern Syria, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said yesterday, as ongoıng clashes heightened around the Idlib province town of Neirab.

The Turkish army retaliated killing 50 Syrian regime soldiers and destroying five tanks, two armoured personnel carriers, two armoured trucks and one howitzer, the ministry announced.

ANKARA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Western allies of Turkey should lend support in the face of threats from Syria and the deployment of U.S. Patriot missile systems in Turkey is on the agenda.

"They previously sent air defense batteries. Our country is threatened by airstrikes and missiles. So there might be Patriot (missile) support. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is closely watching the situation, and there might be further action and plans coming from their side," Akar said during a televised interview to CNNTurk late Thursday.

21 February 2020; AFP: Turkey said Thursday it wanted no "face off" with Russia over its Syrian ally's months-long offensive against Turkish-backed rebels in northwest Syria.

Russia warned Turkey meanwhile to stop arming the "terrorists" saying Russian warplanes had struck Ankara-backed groups in the Idlib region.

The region's growing volatility prompted Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron in Berlin on Thursday to call for talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Two Turkish soldiers were killed Thursday in an airstrike in northwestern Syria, Turkey said, after an attack by Ankara-backed opposition forces that targeted Syrian government troops. The deaths came after the Turkish president threatened to expand his nation’s involvement in Syria if another one of his troops were hurt.

At least 15 Turkish soldiers have been killed in Syria this month amid a crushing offensive by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces aimed at recapturing remaining opposition-held areas in the region.

20 Feb 2020; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today warned that it is only “a matter of time” until Ankara launches a military operation into Syria’s Idlib province, following the failure of talks with Russia.

ANKARA, February 19. /TASS/: Turkey’s new military operation in the Syrian province of Idlib is only a matter of time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, addressing the members of his party in the country’s parliament on Wednesday.

"Turkey has completed preparations for the implementation of its plan on Idlib, just like we did with previous operations. Frankly speaking, an operation in Idlib is only a matter of time. Turkey won’t leave Idlib to the devices of the [Assad] regime," Erdogan pointed out.

19 Feb 2020; MEMO: Turkey’s foreign minister on Sunday said China should not label all Muslim ethnic Uyghurs as terrorists, following talks with his Chinese counterpart in Germany, AFP reported.

ANKARA, Feb 19 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish authorities issued detention orders for more than 700 suspects, linked to the group that is blamed by the Turkish government for the failed 2016 coup, local NTV reported.

There are 766 detention orders, along with operations for Gulen movement linked structures, in the Ministry of Justice and the Turkish Armed forces, NTV reported.