Turkmen forces wrest town in N. Syria from regime control

BAYIRBUCAK, Syria

Turkmen fighters have taken control of Kizildag (Jebel al-Ahmar in Arabic), a strategic part of the predominantly-Turkmen town of Bayirbucak in Syria’s northwestern Latakia province, a Turkmen source said Tuesday.

Mustafa Abdullah, spokesman for the Sultan Abdulhamid Han Brigades, a Turkmen fighting force, told Anadolu Agency that the brigades had launched an extensive operation early Tuesday with the aim of capturing Kizildag.

"We have taken all parts of Kizildag, which had been held by the regime [of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad]," Abdullah said.

"Fighting remains ongoing, however, but, God willing, we will keep making progress," he added.

On Monday, Syrian regime forces -- backed by Russian air power -- had taken control of Kizildag.

According to Abdullah, Turkmen forces have been clashing with regime troops for the last three days, during which three of their fighters had been killed and more than a dozen injured.

He went on to note that the brigades was holding one of two pilots who ejected from a Russian plane that had gone down on Syria’s border with Turkey.

Earlier Tuesday, Turkish presidential sources said that Turkish jets had shot down a warplane believed to be a Russian SU-24 aircraft after the latter had violated Turkish airspace near the border with Syria.

According to the Turkish military, the plane was shot down over Bayirbucak in line with standard rules of engagement.