News / Turkey

Four Syrians killed as mortars hit Turkish town near Syria border

Monday, 18 April 2016 4:10 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 18 April 2016 4:09 PM ]

An injured child of northern Syria is carried on a stretcher at the southern Turkish border town of Kilis hospital on February 16, 2016. (An AFP photo)

At least four Syrian nationals including three children have lost their lives when a number of rockets landed in a town on Turkey’s southeastern border with Syria, security sources say.

A Turkish citizen and five other Syrians were also wounded after five rockets struck the southeastern Turkish town of Kilis on Monday.

Local officials say a state hospital and a teachers’ dormitory were among the targets hit by the rocket fire in the volatile region.

It was not immediately clear if the mortar shells had been fired from Syria.

Kilis is a town located just north of the Syrian border, some 10 kilometers from the Syrian town of Azaz. According to Turkish officials, it is the only town in Turkey with a majority of Syrians.

Separately, a mortar landed near an army outpost in the southern Hatay Province. The Turkish military fired on what it called Daesh positions in northern Syria in retaliation. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

In recent months, the area has been the scene of fierce clashes involving the Daesh Takfiri militants, whom Ankara said is working to push out of the border zone.

Turkish tanks fire from their position near the Oncupinar crossing gate close to the town of Kilis, south central Turkey, towards the Syria border, on February 17, 2016. (A photo by AFP)

Turkey is suspected of being one of the main supporters of the militant groups operating in Syria, with reports saying that Ankara actively trains and arms the Takfiri elements there and facilitates their safe passage into Syria.

Syria has been gripped by a foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 270,000 people have been killed in the conflict; however, some reports put the death toll as high as 470,000.

Damascus accuses Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of funding and arming the terrorist groups operating in Syria, including Daesh.

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