ANKARA – The Turkish army early Saturday returned fire after fresh shelling from Syria hit the border province of Hatay, local officials said. “A mortar landed today (Saturday) at 7:00 A.M. (0400 GMT) about 50 meters inside Turkish territory in an open space about 700 meters from the village of Guvecci and about 300 meters from a police station,” the Hatay governor's office said in a statement. No casualties were reported, it added. The Turkish army responded by firing four rounds of mortars, the statement said, adding that the Syrian fire had come from loyalists who were firing at rebels near the Syrian-Turkish border. The latest exchange came three days after Syrian shelling killed five Turkish nationals in another border town, Akcakale, triggering retaliatory fire and ratcheting up tense relations between the neighbours. Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan again warned Syria Friday that it would pay “a big price” for further attacks. Meanwhile, rebels seized a Syrian village near the Turkish border after hours of fierce fighting Saturday in which 25 troops and three insurgents were killed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Rebels took control of Khirbat Al-Joz, near the village of Jisr Al-Shughur, which lies in northwest Syria about 2 km from the border, according to Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. “After seizing the village, the rebels raised the revolutionary flag over a former army checkpoint in the area,” Abdel Rahman said. The battle left at least 25 soldiers dead, while the rebels lost three men, including a commander who had defected from the army, the Britain-based watchdog said, adding that eight rebels and dozens of soldiers were wounded. Abdel Rahman said fighting was continuing on the outskirts of the village, which is now a ghost town after most of its 4-6,000 inhabitants fled to safety in Turkey. – Agencies
