DAMASCUS, Oct 6 (AFP) – Turkey hit back on Saturday against what it said was a fresh round of mortar fire from Syria, little more than 24 hours after UN condemnation of deadly cross-border bombardment. Syria, for its part, said four Turks were among a convoy of “terrorists” killed in fighting in the heart of Aleppo, [...]

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Turkey returns fire ‘after fresh Syria shelling’

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DAMASCUS, Oct 6 (AFP) – Turkey hit back on Saturday against what it said was a fresh round of mortar fire from Syria, little more than 24 hours after UN condemnation of deadly cross-border bombardment. Syria, for its part, said four Turks were among a convoy of “terrorists” killed in fighting in the heart of Aleppo, just hours after UN condemnation of deadly jihadist bombings in the commercial capital.

Smoke rises from an explosion after several shells landed inside Akcakal, Turkey (Reuters)

Turkish officials said they were sure the mortar round that struck on Saturday morning was fired by pro-government forces, and not the rebels who have been fighting for nearly 19 months to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

The round struck Hatay province at the western end of Turkey’s frontier with Syria, prompting fresh retaliatory fire after reprisals on Wednesday and Thursday for the previous shelling, the provincial governor’s office said.
“A mortar round struck today (Saturday) at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) about 50 metres (yards) inside Turkish territory in an open space about 700 metres from the village of Guvecci and about 300 metres from a police station.”

No casualties were reported, it added. The Turkish army responded with four rounds of mortars, the statement said, adding that the Syrian fire had come from loyalists who were firing at rebels near the border.

A monitoring group, meanwhile, said rebels seized a Syrian village across the border from Guvecci after hours of fierce fighting on Saturday in which 25 troops and three insurgents were killed.

Rebels took control of Khirbat al-Joz, near the town of Jisr al-Shughur, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The cross-border exchanges came despite unanimous condemnation from the UN Security Council late Thursday of deadly shelling from the Syrian side further east in Sanliurfa province that killed five people.




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