Turkey suspends air strikes over Syria

Turkey has halted air support for its Oct. 22 ground incursion into Syria in response to a vow by Damascus to shoot down Turkish Air Force planes over Syrian skies. An official in Ankara added that Turkey had also cut down on its flights in other parts of Syria. DEBKAfile: This decision came after Syrian air defense missiles supplied by Russia “locked in” on Turkish jets, an action that Damascus would not have undertaken without a nod from Moscow.
The Turkish army, which occupied a 5,000 sq. km enclave in northern Syria earlier this month, is left now without air cover and in no position to implement President Tayyip Erdogan’s plans for military intervention in the Syrian conflict.