by Daily Sabah with Agencies
Sep 10, 2015 12:00 am
A soldier has been killed in southern Hatay province on Syria-Turkey border through cross-border fire from Syria on Thursday.
The shooting occurred in the Reyhanlı district of Turkey's Hatay province.
According to a statement by Hatay Governorate, the Cilvegözü Outpost had received reports about people recording images of the outpost.
As the commander of the outpost was patrolling the area with other officers, they heard a gunshot, which killed the 21 year-old soldier Gökhan Çakır.
The Turkish forces responded to the attack under the framework of rules of engagement.
One soldier was killed and another is still missing after a cross-border shooting with ISIS terrorists last week near the Turkish town of Kilis, further east. The missing soldier had reportedly been seen in a hospital run by ISIS.
But there is as yet no information available if Thursday's shooting is related to the ISIS group.
According to a news report by Reuters, a senior government official reportedly said: "We don't think it's related to ISIS because there is Free Syria Army across from Reyhanlı. We've observed that the measures we took against smuggling have been effective, so it's highly likely that the soldier was killed from fire opened by smugglers."
Turkey has tightened border security in recent months and stepped up military action against ISIS in July. Late last month, the group released a video accusing Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan of "treachery," called him an infidel, and urged Turks to rise up against him and 'conquer' Istanbul.
Turkey recently began launching airstrikes against ISIS in northern Iraq and allowing U.S. warplanes to use bases in southeastern Turkey to strike against the terrorist group. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç stressed that Turkey will continue to work with the U.S. to combat ISIS. A ministry official claimed that 20,000 people have been banned from crossing the Syrian border in an effort to prevent foreign fighters from entering the country. In late June, the official number for those deported by Turkish authorities was 1,350. The Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that that number has now reached 2,100. In addition, officials stated that through risk analysis systems designed to spot foreign fighters at airports, more than 1,400 people have been banned from Turkey.
Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.
You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.