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The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) have conducted a military exercise involving battle tanks in the Hatay province bordering the Syrian province of Idlib, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on January 12.
According to the report, TAF units were deployed in Hatay’s Yayladagi region. Battle tank exercises were held in the same area. The news agency added that Turkey is deploying more armored vehicles to the border with Syria.
On December 12, 2018 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once announced plans to launch a military campaign in Syria to the east of the Euphrates River against Kurdish armed groups, which Ankara views as Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) outlawed in Turkey.
Earlier, Turkey conducted two military operations in Syria – Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch. As a result, the TAF estabishled control of a large part of the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.
