Turkey returns fire after army base attacked on Syrian border

Published February 14th, 2016 - 06:30 GMT
Turkish soldiers watch as smoke rises from across the Syrian border. (AFP/File)
Turkish soldiers watch as smoke rises from across the Syrian border. (AFP/File)

The Turkish military responded to an artillery attack on an army base close to the Syrian border on Saturday, a military source said.

According to the unnamed source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, the Akcabaglar base in Kilis province was shelled by the forces of the “PYD/PKK” -- referring to a Syrian Kurdish group and its affiliate PKK, which has been in ongoing conflict with Turkey since 1984.

The shelling came from Azaz in Aleppo province, which has been the scene of recent heavy fighting.

Turkish forces reacted within rules of engagement that provide for an immediate response to any border threat, the source said. There was no further description of the form of response or detail on when the incident occurred.

In a separate incident, the army also responded to mortar fire from Syrian government troops on a Turkish police station in Calibogazi, Hatay province, at 2.55 p.m. local time (1255GMT). Again, there was no information on the type of response.

Editor's note: This article has been edited from the source material

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