" [A] huge explosion was heard at a Syrian army base near Kasab after Turkish military targeted the area. The explosion has been followed with Turkish military firing several other rockets at Syrian army bases [...] Al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front have raised their flags over several Turkish military tanks near Kasab, as a sign of having the area under their control." 25
The 'huge explosion', whose impact was felt from 15 kilometres, was caused by a missile fired from Turkey. 20 Furthermore, according to a Syrian general taking part in this battle, Turkish Armed Forces were among the mercenary forces attacking the strategic hilltop 'Observatory 45' in Kasab. 26
The majority of the mercenaries fighting in Kasab are of Chetchen, Albanian, Saudi and Turkish origin. 18 Ambulances are regularly crossing Turkey's border with Syria to collect the wounded mercenaries and transport them to hospitals across Turkey's Hatay province. 17 In fact, local protestors in Hatay's Harbiye district blocked the paths of those ambulances. 27
T he Syrian army was caught off guard as they were not expecting such an overt and extreme military aggression from Turkey. 19 Nevertheless, Syria's government still exhibits utmost restraint:
"[Syrian] Foreign and Expatriates Ministry called on Wednesday 26 [26 March] in two identical letters to the UN Secretary-General and Chairman of the UN Security Council to take all measures required to condemn the Turkish involvement in supporting the armed terrorist groups which attacked Kasab district from Liwa Iskenderun [i.e. Hatay province] and to compel the Turkish government to stop its aggression.
"Syrian government has drawn the attention of the UN Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon] and chairmen of the UN Security Council during the past three years to the acts and violations committed by the Turkish government against Syria's security and stability through the Turkish involvement in organizing, receiving, funding and hosting tens of thousands of terrorists from various takfiri movements and facilitating their entry into the Syrian territories and giving them background bases on the Turkish territories.
"After the failure of the attempts of the Turkish regime to undermine Syria, the Turkish army moved by Turkish prime minister [Erdogan]'s instructions to launch flagrant aggression on Syria as the Turkish army's tanks and artillery took part directly in the attack on Kasab, north of Syria, and its surrounding "[said Syrian Foreign Ministry]" 28
The Syrian government said that Turkish Armed Forces' overt military participation for the first time represents a dangerous escalation " 29 :
"Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Ja'afari told reporters outside the UN Security Council on Wednesday [26 March] that Turkey was facilitating attacks against Syrian forces by al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups through the country's northern borders and the Israeli regime was doing the same in the occupied Golan Heights.
"Ja'afari added that Syria has been the target of an orchestrated joint military operation conducted by the Turkish government and the Israeli regime as well as the terrorist groups operating both along Syria's northern border and its southern border." 30
As the offensive on Kasab entered its fourth week, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad has strongly condemned the United Nations' deliberate and consistent policy of ignoring the existence of terrorism in Syria since Spring 2011 and made the following remark about the ongoing offensive:
"The massacres of Erdogan government-backed terrorist groups against the residents of Kassab town are still a living example that appeals to every UN official to feel ashamed of having turned into a tool for supporting terrorism" 31
The downing of the Syrian military jet
On the second day of the offensive on Kasab, a drone belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces was shot down by the Syrian army as it was flying over Kasab. This was one was among the drones and fighter jets used by the Turkish Air Force to collect intelligence for the mercenaries on the ground and intercept the communication of the Syrian army. Turkey's politicians and media remained silent over this incident as the location where the drone crashed was 1,5 kilometres inside Syrian territory. 18
On March 23, NATO radar base in Keldagi (Mount Aqraa) blocked a Syrian MIG-23 military jet's contact with the air control tower. While flying over Kasab, the jet was hit by a missile fired from Turkey. Having survived the attack, the pilot of the Syrian jet gave a statement:
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