Turkey sent a convoy of commando units and armoured vehicles to the Turkish province of Hatay on the Syrian border, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Friday.

 

The convoy was being sent to reinforce a Turkish military presence on the border near the northern Syrian province of Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, Anadolu said.

 

The convoy had reached Hatay’s Yayladagi region, from which it moved towards the units on the border, the agency said.

 

A Turkish security source said the Turkish army had been rotating forces in and out of the region, and declined to say whether the latest movement was in preparation for an operation inside Idlib province itself.

 

On Friday, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said that talks between the US military and its Turkish counterparts on the Kurds and Syria will continue next week, in the hopes of producing results both countries accept.

 

On Thursday, a US defense official confirmed that the US military has removed some equipment from Syria, following a report that the pullout ordered by President Donald Trump is now underway.