Opposition: Turkey resumes shelling of Syrian military sites

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Opposition: Turkey resumes shelling of Syrian military sites
Opposition: Turkey resumes shelling of Syrian military sites - CNN.com

From Ivan Watson and Saad Abedine, CNN

October 4, 2012 -- Updated 0716 GMT (1516 HKT)

Embattled Syrian city shaken by blasts



STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Syrian security forces were killed in the latest shelling, group says
Turkey is shelling Syrian military sites near Tal Abyad, the opposition says
An emergency session of the Turkish parliament was called following the attack
Russia condemns bombings in Aleppo that killed at least 40

Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkey was shelling Syrian military sites near its border early Thursday, according to the opposition, even as the Turkish parliament was to convene an emergency session to consider granting authority to preemptively strike its neighbor.

The opposition claims follows news Wednesday that Turkey fired on Syrian government targets in response to the shelling of a Turkish border town.

The cross border attacks are raising fears the spillover from Syria's civil war could ignite a wider regional conflict. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the strikes demonstrate "how Syria's conflict is threatening not only the security of the Syrian people but increasingly causing harm to its neighbors."

The Turkish military began shelling Syrian military sites in Tal Abyad, about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Turkish border, on Thursday, the al-Raqqa provincial chapter of the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria reported.

A number of Syrian security forces were killed in the Turkish shelling of a military center in Rasm al-Ghazal, just south of Tal Abyad, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At least five people were killed and more than a dozen injured when the border town of Akcakale was hit by artillery fired by Syrian government forces, the statement said.

"Our armed forces on the border responded immediately to this atrocious attack within the rules of engagement, and points in Syria determined by radar were hit with artillery fire," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's said, according to a statement released by his office.

"Turkey, within the confines of the rules of engagement and international law, will never leave these types of provocations aimed at our national security unanswered."