Police officer killed during destruction of unexploded ISIL rocket

KİLİS - Anadolu Agency

DHA Photo

A police officer was killed and two soldiers were slightly injured on Oct. 2 during the disposal of an unexploded rocket that was fired from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-held territory in Syria and hit Turkey’s southeastern border province of Kilis, the local governor said.  

The injured soldiers were taken to Kilis State Hospital.
         
According to a written statement from the governor’s office, two of the three rockets fired across the border hit a hilly area close to the border while the third fell into an empty field in the neighborhood of Ekrem Çetin, in the city center.   

The army also said the projectiles hit the province at around 3:40 a.m. on Oct. 3.  
     
An investigation into the incident has been launched.        

Meanwhile, Turkish Armed Forces responded to the attack immediately by shelling ISIL positions with howitzers and multiple rocket launchers, the army said in a written statement.    
  
Kilis province lies six kilometers from the Syrian border.       

ISIL has targeted Kilis with numerous rocket shell attacks since January, killing 21 people and injuring more than 80 others.