ANKARA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Another Syrian mortar shell fell inside the Turkish territory on Sunday, prompting the retaliatory artillery fire by the Turkish army in a fifth straight day, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported.
The Syrian shell landed near the Turkish border town of Akcakale, and the Turkish troops responded by firing mortar shells, making it the fifth day of clashes between the two neighboring countries, said the report.
Abdulhakim Ayhan, the mayor of Akcakale, confirmed that Turkish artillery immediately returned fire.
On Wednesday, a mortar shell from the Syrian side fell in the Turkish border town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province and killed five Turks.
The Turkish government said Wednesday in a statement that "Our armed forces in border region have given the required response in line with the rule of engagements. Targets in Syria, which were detected by radar, were shot by shelling."
"Turkey will never remain unresponsive against these sorts of provocations of Syrian regime within the framework of rules of engagement and international law," the statement said.
In an emergency session on Thursday, the Turkish parliament approved a motion for cross-border military operations inside Syria.
Ankara has been complaining about the spillover of Syrian artillery and gunfire into its territory, and has last week said it would act if mortar strikes were repeated from Syria.
Turkey, once an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but now a leading voice urging his ouster, shelters over 90,000 Syrian refugees and has reportedly provided Syrian rebel army leaders with sanctuary.
ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Syrian artillery shell landed on the Turkish territory Saturday afternoon, some 1,200 meters from the Syrian border, an official statement from the Turkish side said.
The latest shell landed on a vacant land in Hatay province in southern Turkey at 2:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT), according to a written statement released by Hatay Governor's Office. Full story
ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Military vehicles of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) were deployed in southeastern Turkey along the border with Syria on Saturday, the semi-official Aanatolia news agency reported.
The vehicles sent to Suruc town of the southeastern Sanliurfa province included a large number of tanks and missile defense systems, according to the report. Full story
ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkey fired back after a mortar shell believed to be fired by Syrian troops at opposition groups on the border landed Saturday morning in southern Turkey, an official statement said.
"The Syrian mortar shell landed close to a rural area near the Guvecci village of Yayladagi town of Hatay province. Turkey retaliated against Syria by firing four mortar shells on Syria," said the statement issued by Hatay Governor's Office on its website. Full story
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