Turkey kills 55 Syrian troops in Idlib: Ministry

Ankara, Feb 13 (IANS) A total of 55 Syrian government soldiers were killed in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib amid escalation between Turkish and Syrian forces in the region, semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Thursday.

"According to the latest information received from our sources in Idlib, 55 regime troops have been neutralized today," said Turkish Defence Ministry in a statement, reported Xinhua news agency.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" to define those killed or captured.

Turkey has recently sent reinforcements to Syria following several exchanges of fire with the Syrian forces, which have killed 13 Turkish soldiers in two separate incidents in Idlib since last week.

"If any harm comes to our soldiers in observation posts or anywhere (in Syria), I declare that we will hit (Syrian) forces everywhere regardless of the Sochi deal," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Turkish army has killed 101 "members of the Syrian government" in retaliation for an attack that killed five Turkish soldiers, the ministry said on Monday.