Turkmen forces capture town in northern Syria from regime control

Turkmen fighters have taken control of Kızıldağ (Jebel al-Ahmar in Arabic), a strategic part of the predominantly-Turkmen town of Bayırbucak in Syria's northwestern Latakia province, a Turkmen source said Tuesday.

Mustafa Abdullah, spokesman for the Sultan Abdulhamid Han Brigades, a Turkmen fighting force, told Anadolu Agency that the brigades had launched an extensive operation early Tuesday with the aim of capturing Kızıldağ.

"We have taken all parts of Kızıldağ, which had been held by the regime [of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad]," Abdullah said.

"Fighting remains ongoing, however, but, God willing, we will keep making progress," he added.

On Monday, Syrian regime forces -- backed by Russian air power -- had taken control of Kızıldağ.

According to Abdullah, Turkmen forces have been clashing with regime troops for the last three days, during which three of their fighters had been killed and more than a dozen injured.

He went on to note that the brigades was holding one of two pilots who ejected from a Russian plane that had gone down on Syria's border with Turkey.