MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Turkish servicemen are recruiting militants for the Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), an extremist group outlawed in a number of countries worldwide including Russia, in Syria’s northern Aleppo province, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday citing local residents.
“According to information received from citizens of the Aleppo province, officers of the Turkish Armed Forces are recruiting militants for Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist grouping in Mareaa and Azaz,” the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad's government fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.
In an interview with Sputnik, published earlier in the day, Assad called Turkey one of the countries directly supporting terrorism.