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Turkish military targets Syrian regime, Kurdish forces in Syria

ANKARA, Feb 13 (KUNA) -- The Turkish army targeted Saturday Kurdish and Syrian regime forces sites inside Syria in response to artillery and mortar attacks against Turkish military bases inside Turkey.
The Turkish military responded to an artillery attack on an army base close to the Syrian border on Saturday, a military source told the Turkish Anadolu News Agency (AA) on condition of anonymity.
The Akcabaglar base in Kilis province was shelled by the forces of the "PYD/PKK" -- referring to a Syrian Kurdish group and its PKK affiliate, which has waged war on Turkey since 1984, the source explained, noting that the shelling came from Azaz in Aleppo province.
It reiterated that the Turkish forces reacted within rules of engagement that provide for an immediate response to any border threat.
There was no further description of the form of response or detail on when the incident occurred, the AA noted.
In a separate incident, the Turkish army responded to mortar fire from Syrian government troops on a Turkish police station in Calibogazi, Hatay province, at 2.55 p.m. local time (12:55 GMT).
There was no information on the type of response, the AA reported.
Earlier, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated that Turkey would not hesitate to take "necessary measures" in Syria, if any threat was directed against Turkey.
"If we get involved in such a struggle, we expect from friendly and ally countries to stand by us," he added.
He underlined that the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK)'s Syrian affiliate, Democratic Union Party (PYD), has committed "war crimes" against Syrian civilians.
"It (PYD) carries out ethnic cleansing and commits war crime. All the documents are obvious. International organizations have also certified these." About the recent dispute between Turkey and the US over Washington's objection to describing the Syrian group PYD as a terrorist organization, Davutoglu said: "We expect from the US to adopt a loud and clear position against the inhumane slaughter." The Turkish Premier unveiled that the Russian airstrikes have closed the humanitarian logistics corridor between Turkey and Aleppo.
If the corridor was not opened, hundreds of thousands Syrians will face starvation, he cautioned.
"We will help our Aleppo brothers with any kind of opportunities," he added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was actively contributing to the fight against terrorism in addition to the US, Britain, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. (end) rs.ibi