A Turkish tank is stationed near the border with Syria (file photo).
The Turkish Army has staged new wargames just 10 kilometers from the country’s border with Syria amid simmering tensions between the two neighbors.
The drill was held in Suruc near the Sanliurfa province in southeastern Turkey on Thursday, Turkey's state-run Anatolia News Agency reported, adding that mainly tanks were involved in the exercises.
In recent months, Turkey has been holding military maneuvers along its border with Syria.
Ankara and Damascus fell out since a mortar shell fired from the Syrian territory on October 3 landed in Turkey and killed five civilians.
On October 4, the Turkish parliament authorized cross-border military action against Syria “when deemed right.”
Turkey has reinforced its military defenses on its border with Syria over the past weeks, deploying tanks, anti-aircraft missiles, and additional troops in the area.
Damascus has been accusing Turkey -- along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar -- of backing deadly insurgency inside Syria that has claimed the lives of many Syrians, including security and Army personnel.
KA/HN
