Turkish PM aide: Turkey won't declare war on Syria

[October 05, 2012]  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- An aide to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey has no intention of declaring war on Syra.

The aide says Thursday that Turkey's shelling of Syria following a mortar attack that killed five civilians in Turkey and the proposed bill to authorize military actions against its neighbor should be seen as a "warning to Syria."

Turkey's Parliament on Thursday was debating a bill to authorize the military to launch cross border operations in Syria, while Turkey resumed artillery shelling of Syrian targets near the border.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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Turkey's state-media says Turkish artillery has fired on Syrian targets for a second day in retaliation for shelling from Syria that struck a border village, killing five civilians.

State-run TRT television says a military unit based on the border town of Akcakale resumed strikes at Syrian targets overnight and that shelling continued Thursday morning.

A woman, her three daughters and another woman were killed in when a shell from Syria hit a home in Akcakale.

Turkish Foreign Ministry officials were not immediately able to confirm the reports, while Defense Ministry officials refused comment.

[Associated Press]

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