Turkey holds border exercise

ANKARA

DHA Photo

The Turkish Armed Forces held a major snap exercise near the capital Ankara on Oct. 2.

The exercise took place  when the Parliament was debating whether to give the mandate to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s government to give military commitments to the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria.

The exercise named ‘Fire at Will’ is supervised by General Necdet Özel, the Chief of General Staff and all force commanders.

Military sources said the fire capabilities of all weapon systems in the Turkish Army were tested in the exercise, where the new assault helicopter Atak-1, jointly produced with Italian Augusta-Bell, was publicly tested for the first time. Fierce clashes in the border with Syria continue as Turkish soldiers wait near border.