ANKARA: Rocket fire from Syria injured five people in a Turkish border town, the Turkish defence ministry said on Tuesday.

One of two rockets fired hit a house and “lightly wounded” five in the town of Ceylanpinar in Sanliurfa province on Monday night, the provincial governor’s office said in a statement.

They were taken to hospital for treatment, it added.

Turkish media, including CNN Turk, reported six injured including a child, adding that the owner of the house was “in a serious condition”.

Turkish armed forces responded, “destroying seven targets” inside Syria, the defence ministry said in a statement.

It was not clear who was responsible for the missiles from Syria or their origin.

The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia controls parts of northeastern and northern Syria. Ankara considers it a “terrorist” offshoot of Kurdish insurgents inside Turkey.

The YPG worked closely with the United States in the fight against the Islamic State group, much to Turkey’s chagrin.

Turkey has carried out two military operations against IS and the YPG in northern Syria, in 2016 and 2018 respectively, and recently upped the ante with threats to launch another cross-border offensive against the YPG. — AFP

Clickable Image
Clickable Image
Clickable Image