Origin of Syrian shells into Turkey unclear, US general says

ISTANBUL

The commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling. REUTERS photo

It is not clear who is shooting shells from Syria into Turkey, the commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling has said, private television channel NTV yesterday."We are not sure if these shells are from the Syrian army, from rebels who want to get Turkey involved in the issue or from the PKK [Kurdish Workers’ Party]," he said.Neither NATO nor U.S. troops want to get involved in the increasingly complex Syrian issue, Hertling said, adding that they were presently only sharing intelligence with Turkey and observing the ongoing events in Syria.A shell from Syria killed five Turkish civilians in the border town of Akçakale in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa on Oct. 3.