Turkey beefs up military presence near Syria border after clashes

DİYARBAKIR

Turkish jets are patrolling over the border towns. Turkish Armed Forces photo.

Turkey is beefing up its military presence along the Syrian border following clashes between People’s Defense Units (YPG), the militant wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front.

Turkish F-16 jets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were scrambled from their base in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır for patrolling over the border town of Ras al-Ayn, daily Hürriyet reported citing İhlas News Agency.


YPG and al-Nusra Front have been engaged in a fight for three days in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, near the Turkish border town of Ceylanpınar in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) also dispatched soldiers and tanks to the border. Turkey had returned fire into Syrian territory first on June 17, after shots fired from the Syrian side killed one Turkish citizen and seriously wounded another one.