ANKARA - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that a major military operation was underway in the Syria's northwest province of Idlib, which Free Syrian Army rebel groups earlier said they were preparing to enter with Turkish backing.
"There is a serious operation in Syria's Idlib today, and this will continue," Erdogan told members of his AK Party in a speech.
Much of Idlib is currently controlled by an jihadist-led alliance of fighters. "We will never allow a terror corridor along our borders in Syria," Erdogan said. "We will continue to take other initiatives after the Idlib operation."