Turkish Syria border town struck again after 2 killed

Kilis hit by fire from Katyusha-type rockets every day this week, as jihadists look to exploit vulnerability.

Middle East Online

Map detail of Turkey-Syria border area KILIS - A Turkish town on the Syrian border was on Wednesday hit by new rocket fire from Syria, a day after two people were killed by shelling from a jihadist-controlled area, an official said. Kilis, which lies just a few kilometres from the border with Syria, has been hit by fire from Katyusha-type rockets every day this week amid growing concern over its vulnerability. "Four more rockets slammed into the Turkish border town today (Wednesday), with the projectiles landing in separate spots," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The latest rocket fire caused no injuries, according to the official. On Tuesday morning, eight people were wounded when rockets fired from an area in Syria controlled by Islamic State (IS) jihadists crashed into the centre of Kilis. One of the wounded died later in the day and another overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, Dogan said. In a sign of Ankara's alarm over the repeated firing on Kilis, Turkey's top general Hulusi Ankar and its powerful intelligence chief Hakan Fidan were both in the town Wednesday to investigate the situation, the government said. - 'Circle of fire' - "Unfortunately very fierce clashes are taking place just beside our borders," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a speech in Ankara. "We are in a determined struggle to protect our citizens from this circle of fire," he added. The Turkish premier vowed that the government would keep on fighting against all "evil centres" and warned those who dare to carry out the attacks would pay "the heaviest price." Dozens of people had rallied in the centre of Kilis on Tuesday to call for greater security measures against the shelling, Turkish media reports said. Kilis, a town of just under 100,000, is the only major urban centre in Turkey which now has a majority of Syrians after the influx of refugees from the civil war. Davutoglu said Turkey's armed forces had responded on Tuesday by launching artillery strikes of its own against IS positions in Syria. 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 United States and Russia that came into force on February 27. Washington has applauded Turkey's role in the anti-IS coalition but US officials on occasion have urged Ankara to do more. In a separate development, Turkey's army opened fire on a group of four people -- one man and three women -- who attempted to cross into the Turkish border town of Karkamis late on Tuesday from IS-held Jarablus, local media reported. The man, a Turk, was injured and later died in hospital and the women -- one Turk and two Moroccans, were detained on suspicion of being IS members, the Dogan news agency reported. The women were due to be brought to court on charges of "membership in an armed terrorist organisation" and "violation of a special security region," it added.