Fighters of the al-Qaeda-led Wa Harid al-Muminin operations room, Illustrative image.
The al-Qaeda-affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) was behind the recent attack that targeted a Turkish patrol on the M4 highway in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib, the Russian center for Reconciliation in Syria revealed on May 28.
The reconciliation center said terrorists of the TIP targeted an armored vehicle of the Turkish patrol with an improvised explosive device (IED) after it had approached one of their ammo depots near the highway.
An infantry officer of the Turkish Armed Forces was killed in the attack. Another Turkish service member and several Syrian militants were reportedly injured.
The reconciliation center’s statement is in line with information provided by opposition outlets. Several outlets reported that a large explosion wiped out an ammo depot of the TIP near the M4 highway when the Turkish patrol was passing by. A video of the incident was even shared.
In spite of these facts, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense contributed the death of its officer to what it called a “mysterious explosion.”
The Turkish military is still working to secure the M4. Earlier today, Turkish forces and the Russian Military Police conducted a new joint patrol on the highway. Nevertheless, Ankara is yet to address the issue of the presence of terrorists in Greater Idlib.
I think there was a guide artillery attack vs Al Qaeda ammo depot and Turkish army was in the wrong side at the wrong time…
Maybe…rather Tip did this…
Yes not sure where they get the IED from. Agree that that property was smoking from something prior and then hit by artillery or rocket ?? and the camera pans to the vehicles and then there is a massive explosion coming from the direction of the building which suggests the prior hit/s ignited the ammo dump in the targeted building. I take it that it was a drone filming everything so it was there for a reason ? .. Then all the ants getting out of their roadside hidy holes .. As you say the trucks were parked up unaware of their impending adrenaline rush. Hope they had an extra pack of cigarettes as they would need them.
What a load of BS, the Uighurs are trying to cessate from China so they can join the new Ottoman Empire and yet Russia expects us to believe that they’re the ones responsible for blowing up the Turkish convoy. THEY’RE THE LEAST LIKELY CANDIDATES, they’re in fact the group of foreign terrorists most cosy with Turkey, they’re not on the brink of open hostilities with them, it’s the other members of HTS that are guilty of that. The Turks blew a Russian jet out of the sky way back in 2015 because it was attacking Erdogan’s Uighurs and Chechens in Syria, and even though they may not be ethnically Turkish, they’re true blooded Ottomans through and through, and Erdogan absolutely loves anyone that thinks like that. But the Arab majority HTS and Al Nusra don’t think like that, they want a new Arab Empire instead, they don’t really want to be a part of the new Ottoman Empire, that’s why they’ve been doing trade deals with the Syrian government. The Syriac Christians will be watching intently what happens now, the Uighurs loved torturing and killing Christians and burning down their churches when they first arrived, so I’m sure the Syriacs will be waiting to get their revenge now, they’re probably rubbing their hands together as they watch events unfold.
Of course Russia will play mischief with the Turks – to try and wedge the Turks and their Islamist proxies – TIP are one of Russia’s least favorite terror faction in Syria, as is full of Chechan Islamist extremists – Russian strategy has always been to try and get all terror factions in Idlib into intra-factional fighting – it; a.) saves SAA lives if terror groups killing each other, b.) is way to try and force Turkey to separate from proxies by publicly indicating they are obvious terror factions.
I’m no fan of misinformation, people should be made aware of the facts, lies never really help anyone in the long run. TIP have about 4 to 5,000 Uighurs and about 2,000 Chechens, so they are definitely Russia’s least favourite terrorist organization, and the Russians love to blow them up whenever they can, you’re right about that, but as I said the Turks hate it, they actually defend the Uighurs and Chechens. I suspect HTS is about to kick their TIP allies out of the alliance soon and start murdering them faster than they can escape to Turkey, there’s trouble brewing up in Latakia and western Idlib, and Assad’s doing everything he can to encourage it, stay tuned.
Thing is, ‘…misinformation…’, is relative concept in current media driven world – everything we hear is driven by an agenda – be it advertising chasing your wallet or politics chasing your acquiescence to a domestic and/or international viewpoint. The domestic and international media landscapes are currently openly contested partisan spaces and an extension of conflicts at every level. You may be right about HTS and TIP though – TIP militants really don’t have a very bright future, and they have scant options for refuge outside Idlib other than Turkey – and if Turkey views them in longer term as volatile and expendable proposition, they will either allow another faction to consume them at some point, or consider exporting them as mercenary Islamist’s to likes distant of Libyan conflict.
Yes I think you may be right about Erdogan abandoning the TIP if circumstances warranted it, but atm the situation isn’t demanding that, it’s actually the opposite, it’s now that Erdogan needs the TIP the most. The fact is they’re still a member of HTS’s alliance, and because the HTS alliance is breaking away from Erdogan, I would assume that means it would be in Erdogan’s best interest to keep his foot in the HTS door using the TIP, at least he’d still have some leverage in HTS that way, as it stands now he has very little influence on them anymore.
TIP have been Turkish proxies for years – and loaded up with foreign imported hardcore jihadists and mercenaries from Turkmen to Chechans to Urghurs – nary a Syrian to be seen in this terror faction’s ranks.