Turkey soldiers join Syria rebels near frontline

Turkish soldiers joined Syrian rebels near the frontline on Monday as the rebels geared up for the next fight.

They teamed up at a newly established observation post in the village of Qamenis.

Turkey supports the Syrian rebels, while Russia has heavily backed the Syrian government's campaign to retake Idlib, which is the last rebel stronghold in Syria.

The rebels will go into the battle with Turkish-supplied equipment.

Turkey said it hit back at Syrian government forces on Monday after "intense" Syrian shelling killed five of its soldiers and wounded five others in northern Idlib province.

The fighting in Idlib led to the collapse of a fragile cease-fire that was brokered by Turkey and Russia in 2018.

Turkey sent hundreds of military vehicles and troops into Idlib province in the past week.