Turkey shells Syria after missile damages military base

ANKARA

A projectile fired from Syria left a 15-meter wide crater inside a stream bed. AA Photo

Turkey has pounded a Syrian artillery unit near the border in reprisal for cross-border fire that injured five Turkish civilians and damaged a military base, the Turkish military announced on March 25.

According to a written statement issued by the Turkish General Staff, a rocket or missile fired by the Syrian army during its engagement with rebels crossed the border late on March 24 and exploded near the Cüdeyde neighborhood of the Reyhanlı district in the southern Turkish province of Hatay.

The projectile left a 15-meter wide crater inside a stream bed, breaking the windows of the surrounding houses, causing the roof of a building in the nearby military unit to collapse, and damaging two military vehicles, the army stated.

“In line with the rules of engagement, two 155 mm Fırtına (Storm) type howitzers from the Hatay/Yayladağı Dağardı border base responded by firing at the artillery positions of the Syrian regime at 05.25 a.m. on March 25,” the statement added.

The army stressed that it would continue to respond if “shells continue to land in Turkish territory.”

While the General Staff statement said five Turkish citizens were lightly injured in the incident, the Governorate of Hatay gave the same number as two.

Damascus has not issued any statement regarding the incidents so far.

Meanwhile, a Syrian newspaper claimed that Syria shot down a Turkish military drone on March 25. Russian news agency Sputnik quoted daily Al Watan as claiming that the drone was shot down "while gathering intelligence on the position of Syrian [regime] forces in the Aleppo province for the benefit of [rebels]."