UPDATE 2: As expected, the number of the Turkish soldiers killed during the attack has officially risen to 22.

UPDATE: Facebook, Youtube & Instagram also down in Turkey.

The first official Turkish report by Rahmi Dogan, the governor of Hatay province, speaks of nine soldiers killed. The number is expected to rise in the course of the night.

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According to various sources, around 37 Turkish soldiers were killed and 50 were wounded when the Russian Air Force struck Turkish posts in and around Saraqib.

Updated reports indicate a 2-storey building used by the Turkey military as a command headquarters was leveled in a targeted Russia airstrike.

An emergency security meeting is underway at the Turkish Presidency on Idlib. Erdogan chairs the meeting.

Requests by Ankara to fly in helicopters to evacuate casualties were rejected by Hmeymim AB which is practically controlled by the Russians. The casualties were driven by land.

Pro-AKP media reports massive Syrian regime losses. But the concern is that the reports are to try to offset an impending announcement of major Turkish casualties.

President Trump’s ally Sen. Lindsey Graham is reportedly pushing for an aggressive US response in Syria amid the reports of more than 30 Turkish troops killed by the Russian airstrike in Idlib, calling on POTUS to establish a no-fly zone “to stop the slaughter and get ahead of a humanitarian crisis”.

Reports of the significant casualties in Idlib send Turkish lira to lowest level against USD since September 2018.

Social media access is also slowing down for some users in Turkey.

According to reports, Turk Telekom has blocked access to Twitter in Turkey.

Sources: Ahval, Twitter, e-amyna, TRT Haber