The Tupolev Tu-22M is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. The bomber was reported as being designated Tu-26 by Western intelligence at one time. During the Cold War, the Tu-22M was operated by the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) in a missile carrier strategic bombing role, and by the Soviet Naval Aviation in a long-range maritime anti-shipping role.
Al-Bab is a city, de jure administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate of the Syrian Arab Republic. As of December 2016, the city is under the control of pro-Turkish militias, as part of the Turkish occupation of northern Syria. Al-Bab is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Aleppo, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the Turkish border, and has an area of 30 square kilometres. Al-Bab has an altitude of 471 metres. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), it had a population of 63,069 in 2004. The population has surged to about 100,000 during the Syrian Civil War. Prior to the Syrian Civil War, al-Bab's inhabitants were composed of a Sunni Arab majority, and a Kurdish minority outside the city center.
On 22 September 2014, the United States officially intervened in the Syrian civil war with the stated aim of fighting the terrorist organization ISIS in support of the international war against it, code named Operation Inherent Resolve. The US currently continues to support the Syrian rebels and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces opposed to both the Islamic State and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
On 30 September 2015, Russia launched a military intervention in Syria after a request by the government of Bashar al-Assad for military support in its fight against the Syrian opposition and Islamic State (IS) in the Syrian civil war. The intervention was kick-started by extensive air strikes across Syria, focused on attacking opposition strongholds of the Free Syrian Army along with the rebel coalition of the Revolutionary Command Council and Sunni militant groups under the Army of Conquest coalition. In line with Syrian government propaganda which denounces all armed resistance to its rule as "terrorism"; Syrian military chief Ali Abdullah Ayoub depicted Russian airstrikes as facilitating their campaign against terrorism. Russian special operations forces, military advisors and private military contractors like the Wagner Group were also sent to Syria to support the Assad regime, which was on the verge of collapse. Prior to the intervention, Russian involvement had been heavily invested in providing Assad with diplomatic cover and propping up the Syrian Armed Forces with billions of dollars of arms and equipment. In December 2017, the Russian government announced that its troops would be deployed to Syria permanently.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from May to August 2016. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
Operation Euphrates Shield was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in the Syrian Civil War which led to the Turkish occupation of northern Syria. Operations were carried out in the region between the Euphrates river to the east and the rebel-held area around Azaz to the west. The Turkish military and Turkey-aligned Syrian rebel groups, some of which used the Free Syrian Army label, fought against the forces of the Islamic State (IS) as well as against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from 24 August 2016. On 29 March 2017, the Turkish military officially announced that Operation Euphrates Shield was "successfully completed".
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from September to December 2016. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The western al-Bab offensive was a military operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the countryside of northwestern Aleppo Governorate, south of the towns of Mare' and Tel Rifaat.
The Battle of al-Bab was a battle for the city of al-Bab in the Aleppo Governorate that included a military offensive launched by Syrian rebel groups and the Turkish Armed Forces north of al-Bab, a separate Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) offensive east and west of the city, and another Syrian Army offensive from the south of the city. The northern Turkish-led forces intended to capture al-Bab from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as part of the Turkish military intervention in Syria. By the end of the battle, the Turkish-led forces had captured al-Bab, Qabasin, and Bizaah, while the Syrian Army captured Tadef and other areas further south, with the SDF making gains further to the east and the west.
The following lists events that happened during 2017 in Turkey.
On 27 February 2020, during the Dawn of Idlib 2 Operation, a joint airstrike was executed by the Russian and Syrian Air Forces against a convoy of the Turkish Army stationed in Balyun, within the Idlib Governorate. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reported that the assault resulted in the loss of 34 Turkish soldiers. However, alternative sources close to Turkey, suggested a significantly higher death toll, ranging from 50 to 70 casualties, marking it as the most lethal attack on Turkish forces since their engagement in the Syrian Civil War commenced. The assault also inflicted injuries on an estimated 36 to 60 soldiers, with 16 of them reported to be in a critical state. This incident represented the most substantial loss of life experienced by the Turkish Army on foreign territory since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. In response to this attack, the Turkish Armed Forces initiated Operation Spring Shield in the province of Idlib.
Operation Spring Shield was a cross-border military operation carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in the Idlib Governorate of northwestern Syria against the Syrian Armed Forces and allied militias. The operation was launched on 27 February 2020 in direct response to the Balyun airstrikes, aiming to address the escalating situation in the region.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2020. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
The 2020 Kafr Takharim airstrike occurred on 26 October 2020 when the Russian Air Force targeted a training camp run by Faylaq al-Sham, a major Islamist Syrian rebel group backed by Turkey, near the town of Kafr Takharim located around 10 kilometers from the Turkish border. At the time of the attack, the camp contained more than 180 rebels affiliated with Faylaq al-Sham. At least 78 rebel fighters were killed and over 100 more were wounded in the airstrike.
The 2021 Turkish Air Force Eurocopter AS532 Cougar crash occurred on 4 March 2021, when a Turkish Air Force (TAF) Eurocopter AS532 Cougar, en route to Tatvan District in Bitlis, Turkey, crashed in Bitlis Province. Eleven Turkish servicemen on board were killed in the crash, while two other servicemen survived the crash. Initially, five injured servicemen were hospitalized, though three of them, including Lieutenant General Osman Erbaş, the commander of the 8th Corps, later died of their injuries.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2021. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2022. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found in Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
On 20 November 2022 the Turkish Air Force launched Operation Claw-Sword, a series of airstrikes against Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Army positions in Northern Syria and against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in Northern Iraq. The airstrikes were launched following the 2022 Istanbul bombing on 13 November, that the Turkish government say was conducted by Kurdish separatists.
Russian Armed Forces 
Turkish Armed Forces 