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| - One Turkish soldier died on Saturday after shelling by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime on the last rebel holdout of Idlib, the defence ministry said. "One of our heroic comrades was injured as a result of tank fire by the regime on our elements who are in the Idlib region to ensure a ceasefire but fell martyr when he was being taken to a hospital," the ministry said on Twitter. The latest casualty brings the number of Turkish personnel killed in clashes in Idlib this month to 17. The Turkish military retaliated and destroyed 21 regime targets following "the despicable attack", the ministry added. Ahead of the attack, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, to discuss ways of finding a solution to the problem in Idlib, the ministry said. The latest incident comes two days after two Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike in the Idlib region blamed by Ankara on the regime in Damascus. Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib as part of a 2018 deal with Russia, a key backer of Assad, and beefed up its military positions with howitzers, tanks and commandoes in recent weeks. The attacks this month from Syrian regime forces have prompted a war of words between Ankara and Moscow. Moscow has accused rebel backer Ankara of failing to act against "terrorist groups in Idlib," which Turkey denies. The latest killings sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, in a phone call Friday, to restrain the regime's offensive. French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for a summit on Syria "as soon as possible" with the leaders of Germany, Russia and Turkey. In a speech on Saturday, Erdogan said he discussed the Syria crisis with Putin, and as well as with Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We have determined our roadmap," he said, without elaborating. Erdogan has threatened an "imminent" operation against the Syrian regime if its forces fail to pull back behind its army posts in Idlib by the end of this month. fo/har
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