Turkey To Respond With 'Greater Force' If Shelling From Syria Continues

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WATCH: Mortars strike Syrian villages near the Turkish border and heavy machine-gun fire could be heard from the Turkish side. Meanwhile, a wounded Free Syrian Army colonel was brought to Turkey in a boat before being rushed to a hospital in the southern province of Hatay. (Reuters)

Turkey's army says it will respond with "greater force" if shelling from Syria continues to spill over the border.

Turkey's chief of general staff, General Necdet Ozel, made the comment during a visit on October 10 to a town where shelling from neighboring Syria killed five civilians last week.

The attack has sparked cross-border artillery and mortar exchanges between Turkey and Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces are fighting against rebels.

Ozel's comments came one day after NATO Secretary-Greneral Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the military alliance had "all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary."

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP