Turkish artillery has fired on targets in Syria Wednesday, Oct 3, after shells from across the border killed five Turkish nationals.

There are unconfirmed reports that a number of Syrian troops were killed in the Turkish fire.

“Turkey's military struck targets inside Syria in response to a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's office said in a statement, according to Today's Zaman

"Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," the statement said.

"Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security," it added.

Syria's Information Minister Omran Zoabi conveyed his condolences to the Turkish people, saying his country respected the sovereignty of neighboring countries. He also called on other countries to respect Syria's sovereignty and to control their borders to stop gunmen from entering Syria.