Turkey’s military announced that it had scrambled fighter jets to its border on Saturday, in response to Syrian helicopters straying close to the shared border.
According to the statement released by the Turkish military Sunday, the helicopters approached the border at least three different times, leading to the F-16 jets being flown to the frontier. So far no direct conflicts have been reported.
The jets were brought forward just days after Turkey said it would consider any Syrian military vehicles approaching the border as a direct threat, following Syria’s destruction of a Turkish reconnaissance plane on June 22.
Turkey has since fortified the border with additional anti-aircraft guns and weapons. The helicopters in question were said to have flown within four miles of Turkish territory.
