Turkish forces fire targets in Syria after shelling attack

Turkish forces fire targets in Syria after shelling attack
Turkey has fired back at Islamic State militants across the border in Syria after rockets launched by the group hit the southeastern town of Kilis for a third consecutive day.
2 min read
13 April, 2016
Attacks the day before killed one person and left seven others wounded [Anadolu]
Turkish armed forces struck back at Islamic State [IS] militants after rockets fired from Syria hit a southeastern Turkish town on Wednesday.

No casualties were reported from the Turkish side after the IS militants fired rockets into an empty field in the town of Kilis, which lies just a few kilometres from the border with Syria.

The Turkish town, home to over 100,000 Syrian refugees, has come under continuous shelling since Monday, when it was hit by Katyusha-type rockets.

"We go to sleep to the sound of rockets and we wake up to the sound of rockets," Hasan Kara, the town's mayor, told Reuters.

In a sign of Ankara's alarm over the repeated firing on the town, Turkey's top general Hulusi Ankar and its powerful intelligence chief Hakan Fidan were both in Kilis on Wednesday to investigate the situation.

Earlier attacks on Tuesday had left at least one person dead and seven others wounded when rockets fired by the militants crashed into the centre of Kilis.

We go to sleep to the sound of rockets and we wake up to the sound of rockets
- Hasan Kara, mayor of Kilis

Dozens of people had rallied in the centre of Kilis to call for greater security measures against the shelling.

Turkey's armed forces responded on Tuesday by launching artillery strikes of its own against IS positions in Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

The exchange of fire comes after the IS wrested back control of the town of al-Rai, near Turkey, which rival rebels had captured last week.

Neither the al-Qaeda-affiliated, al-Nusra Front, nor IS are included in a truce brokered by the US and Russia that came into force on February 27.

Washington applauded Turkey's role in the anti-IS coalition but US officials on occasion have urged Ankara to do more.

Agencies contributed to this report