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SYRIAN MISSILE SYSTEMS LOCK ONTO FIVE TURKISH JETS AS CLASHES RAGE ACROSS BORDER
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
March 25 2014
ANKARA
Syria has increased air strikes against the border town of Kassab in
the governorate of Latakia, March 25. AA Photo
Syrian air missile batteries locked onto five Turkish F-16 patrolling
the Syrian border, the General Staff said in a statement March 25,
two days after Turkey downed a Syrian aircraft.
Turkish jets were sent to the zone after four Syrian planes and
helicopters approached Turkish airspace across from Hatay where
clashes have been ongoing between government troops and groups close
to al-Qaeda for five days.
"As they were flying over Hatay, our five F-16 jets were harassed 12
times by SA-2, SA-5 and SA-17 surface-to-air missile systems deployed
in Syria, which locked onto them for 10 minutes and 53 seconds in
total," the General Staff said.
The Turkish jets flew away while they were at a distance of 1.6-2.7
nautical miles away from the Syrian border and moved away from the
region, the statement added.
Only a day ago, on March 24, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said
a Syrian missile system "harassed" a Turkish fighter for more than
four minutes.
The General Staff also said in a statement that a similar incident
occurred on March 23, the same day Turkish fighter jets shot down a
Syrian warplane for allegedly violating Turkey's airspace. Tensions
have since escalated between the neighboring countries as the army has
deployed armed vehicles on the frontier further east as officials mull
a possible operation to "protect" the tomb of Suleyman Å~^ah, a crop
of Turkish land which is located 25 kilometers inside Syria's borders.
Syria bombs Kassab
Meanwhile, Syria has increased air strikes against the border town of
Kassab in the governorate of Latakia, which was reportedly captured
by groups linked to al-Qaeda on March 23.
The strikes were visible from the Turkish side of the border. Injured
people were also brought to hospitals in Hatay's Yayladagı district.
Islamist rebel groups are fighting government troops near the seaside
tourist village of Samra further west, activists said. The reports
were also confirmed by the British-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights.
Observers said if the rebels take Samra, the Syrian government would
lose coastline for the first time during the conflict. Kassab is on
the westernmost border between Syria and Turkey. The town has a high
Armenian population, and many in the town have expressed great fear
at the possibility of being slaughtered by the Islamists whom they
accuse Ankara of supporting.
Populated mostly by Alawites, Latakia is considered to be the homeland
of President Bashar al-Assad.
March/25/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-missile-systems-lock-onto-five-turkish-jets-as-clashes-rage-across-border.aspx?pageID=238&nID=64067&NewsCatID=352
From: Baghdasarian
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
March 25 2014
ANKARA
Syria has increased air strikes against the border town of Kassab in
the governorate of Latakia, March 25. AA Photo
Syrian air missile batteries locked onto five Turkish F-16 patrolling
the Syrian border, the General Staff said in a statement March 25,
two days after Turkey downed a Syrian aircraft.
Turkish jets were sent to the zone after four Syrian planes and
helicopters approached Turkish airspace across from Hatay where
clashes have been ongoing between government troops and groups close
to al-Qaeda for five days.
"As they were flying over Hatay, our five F-16 jets were harassed 12
times by SA-2, SA-5 and SA-17 surface-to-air missile systems deployed
in Syria, which locked onto them for 10 minutes and 53 seconds in
total," the General Staff said.
The Turkish jets flew away while they were at a distance of 1.6-2.7
nautical miles away from the Syrian border and moved away from the
region, the statement added.
Only a day ago, on March 24, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said
a Syrian missile system "harassed" a Turkish fighter for more than
four minutes.
The General Staff also said in a statement that a similar incident
occurred on March 23, the same day Turkish fighter jets shot down a
Syrian warplane for allegedly violating Turkey's airspace. Tensions
have since escalated between the neighboring countries as the army has
deployed armed vehicles on the frontier further east as officials mull
a possible operation to "protect" the tomb of Suleyman Å~^ah, a crop
of Turkish land which is located 25 kilometers inside Syria's borders.
Syria bombs Kassab
Meanwhile, Syria has increased air strikes against the border town of
Kassab in the governorate of Latakia, which was reportedly captured
by groups linked to al-Qaeda on March 23.
The strikes were visible from the Turkish side of the border. Injured
people were also brought to hospitals in Hatay's Yayladagı district.
Islamist rebel groups are fighting government troops near the seaside
tourist village of Samra further west, activists said. The reports
were also confirmed by the British-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights.
Observers said if the rebels take Samra, the Syrian government would
lose coastline for the first time during the conflict. Kassab is on
the westernmost border between Syria and Turkey. The town has a high
Armenian population, and many in the town have expressed great fear
at the possibility of being slaughtered by the Islamists whom they
accuse Ankara of supporting.
Populated mostly by Alawites, Latakia is considered to be the homeland
of President Bashar al-Assad.
March/25/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-missile-systems-lock-onto-five-turkish-jets-as-clashes-rage-across-border.aspx?pageID=238&nID=64067&NewsCatID=352
From: Baghdasarian