Turkey deploys military installations near Syrian border

Turkey started deploying rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns along its border with Syria after its fighter jet was shot down by its neighbor last week, according to local media on Thursday , Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

Turkish television showed that a convoy of about 30 military vehicles, including trucks loaded with missile batteries, arrived in Turkey's coastal town of Iskenderun and deployed near the the Syrian border 50 km away on Wednesday.

The convoy, escorted by police cars, included rocket launchers on transporters, anti-aircraft artillery and military ambulances. Other military vehicles also moved to the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province.

The semi-official Anatolia news agency said armored military vehicles were being transported to military installations in Sanliurfa, in the middle of Turkey's border with Syria and Hatay.

Turkey's decision to reinforce its border with Syria comes two days after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a change in terms of its military engagement after its jet fighter was shot down by Syria.

He claimed that any military element moving towards the Turkish border and deemed threatening would be declared a military target. But he said on Wednesday that his country has no intention to attack Syria.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul is due to discuss the heightened tensions with Syria at a National Security Council meeting on Thursday.

Syria described its shooting down of the Turkish F-4 jet as an act of self-defense.