HATAY - Some information reached following the attack Turkish soldiers being targeted by Syrian Army in Idlib raises the question if the number of the soldiers lost in the attack is being covered up contrary to the announced official statements.
According to the official statements, 33 soldiers were killed and 32 were injured in the attack carried out against Turkish Armed Forces by Syrian regime forces on February 27 in Idlib. The treatment of soldiers injured in the attack continues in Reyhanlı State Hospital, Hatay State Hospital, Hatay New State Hospital, Kırıkhan State Hospital and Gülhane Training and Research Hospital. It was learned that the bodies of the soldiers in the morgues of these hospitals are being sent to their hometowns in secret.
Contrary to the statements made by the Governorate of Hatay, it was found out that there were many injured people in Reyhanlı State Hospital, and there were serious injuries in Hatay State Hospital and Hatay New State Hospital. While civilians were not taken to the section where the injured are admitted, it was observed that medical teams from the surrounding provinces were assigned to the city temporarily.
After the attack in Idlib, there are wide security measures along Hatay city center and Syria border. While the military shipment continues to the border where war planes fly, there are special forces teams deployed at the border. Security measures increased at Reyhanlı, Kırıkhan, Hassa and Kumlu districts. The pressmembers who wanted to follow these measures were blocked by soldiers and police.
IS THE NUMBER OF THE SOLDIERS LOST THEIR LIVES MORE THAN ANNOUNCED?
According to information received from reliable sources, another tank battalion was targeted, along with the battalion from Kayseri in the artillery fire and air strike of the Syrian regime forces. So much that it took hours to remove the bodies of soldiers under the rubble.
Although the number of soldiers who lost their lives in the attack was announced as 33, there are claims that the number of soldiers died is higher and this figure is kept a secret. The number of people with HTŞ who died in the attack is unknown. It is stated that while the troops dispatched to the border in case of a new possible attack by Syria are on alert, they is a de facto war with Russia.
There is information that a health worker who did not give his name for security reasons, saw 350 ambulances were transferred to the Cilvegöz Border Gate after the attack, and that supplementary ambulances were requested from the surrounding provinces due to high numbers of the injured and the dead.
The health worker stating 'We counted the bodies that were brought ourselves. It was contrary to the official numbers' raised the question if the real figures are being kept a secret.
Citizens living in the cities of Hatay and Kilis, bordering Syria, are at unease.Citizens in fear of evolving conflicts on the border line to war carefully follow the developments with concern.