Turkey deploys 40 armored vehicles to Syrian border

By Erdal Turkoglu, Halil Ibrahim Sincar

HATAY, MARDIN, Turkey

Turkish armed forces have deployed more than 40 armored vehicles along the Syrian border on Monday, according to military sources.

Two dozen armored vehicles have entered Reyhanli district of southeastern Hatay province, with military jammer vehicles "for reinforcement reasons", the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, told Anadolu Agency.

A 20-vehicle-military convoy, which includes tanks, has also arrived in Viransehir district of southeastern Sanliurfa province, according to the sources. They have been sent from southeastern Mardin province for assistance to military units on the Syrian border.

Anadolu Agency correspondent in the region also said intense smoke was coming out of Nesreyieh region in Afrin, which is currently under control of PKK/PYD terrorist group.

Turkey will continue to fight against terrorism along its southern borders with an operation in the northern Syrian region of Afrin, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

"In the coming days, God willing, we will continue with Afrin [operation] -- that we started first with Euphrates Shield Operation -- to purge terrorism from our southern borders,” Erdogan said in the central Anatolian Tokat province.

The Afrin operation will follow Turkey's successful seven-month Operation Euphrates Shield, which ended last March.

On Saturday, Turkish security forces hit several PKK/PYD targets in the Afrin district of Syria's Aleppo province to prevent a "terror corridor" from forming along Turkey's borders.

According to information gathered by Anadolu Agency in Idlib, Turkish army fired at least 40 times during the artillery bombardment in Afrin’s five districts, including Bosoufane, Jindires and Rajo.

The artillery units hit PKK/PYD forces from Turkey's southern province of Hatay.

The PKK/PYD is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.

Since the PKK launched its terror campaign in 1984, an estimated 40,000 people have been killed in Turkey in related violence.