UPDATES WITH DETAIL OF TURKISH RETALIATION, EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Mehmet Fatih Aslan
KILIS, Turkey (AA) – Four people were injured in a rocket attack in the southern Turkish city of Kilis on Thursday, a security source said.
Three rockets fired from Daesh-controlled territory in Syria hit residential areas. Two landed in the Yasar Akturk neighborhood, damaging a high school and offices, while a third struck the Necmettin Erbakan district 20 minutes later, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The attacks came between 7.45 a.m. and 8.45 a.m. local time (0445 and 0545GMT).
In retaliatory fire, the Turkish military killed four Daesh terrorists, a separate military source said. Targets in Syria’s Suran and Kafr Khan regions were detected by radar capable of tracing the passage of missiles to launch sites.
Following the morning attacks police cordoned off the areas hit and medical teams were dispatched.
Kilis lies 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the Syrian border and has been repeatedly struck by cross-border rocket fire since mid-January.
According to official figures, 20 people have been killed and almost 70 wounded by rockets.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said 55 rockets had been fired by Daesh into Kilis in the last three months. Retaliatory artillery fire and airstrikes have killed scores of Daesh terrorists.
According to military sources, a total of 2,144 Daesh targets have been struck in Syria since July, killing 807 Daesh militants. A further 365 have been killed in Iraq.
