ANKARA, Feburary 28. /TASS/. The number of Turkish soldiers killed in Syria's Idlib province has grown to 33, governor of Turkey's Hatay province Rahmi Dogan told TRT channel on Friday.

"The number of killed soldiers increased to 33. There is no threat to the lives of the injured soldiers," Dogan said.

Earlier reports said that 29 Turkish soldiers were killed and 36 more were injured.

The situation in Idlib has escalated at the start of February after Russian and Turkish militaries made another attempt to impose a ceasefire regime, but terrorists only stepped up their attacks in response. Last week Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara is ready to use its full combat power in case an operation in Idlib is needed. Erdogan said that the start of a military campaign in Idlib is only a matter of time and that all preparations have been made.

Idlib is the only region of Syria that is still mostly controlled by illegal armed groups. In 2017, a northern de-escalation zone was set up there, and militants who refused to lay down arms in Eastern Gouta near Damascus and in southern parts of Syria moved there.