20 Turkish nationals injured by Syrian bullets in 3 months

Intense fighting in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, just across the border from Sanliurfa's Ceylanpinar, has left 20 Turkish citizens injured in three months, the Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday. Speaking to reporters in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, Dr. Ayhan Tufan, Sanliurfa Ceylanpinar State Hospital's chief physician, 20 Turks were injured by Syrian bullets coming from across the border, where fierce clashes are continuing between Syrian opposition fighters and regime forces battling for control of a region in the northeastern corner of the country. "Ahmet Ozer was one of the people injured by a Syrian bullet. The bullet struck him while he was at home. He has been under medical care since then," Tufan said. He added that the other Turkish citizens struck by bullets recently are in good medical condition. Turkish media reported on Monday that six Turkish nationals including children have been injured by stray bullets fired from the other the Syrian side of the border over the past two weeks. The latest example of collateral damage from across the border came when a rocket fired from Syria landed in a house in the border town of Ceylanpinar on Monday. The rocket struck the first floor of a two-story house but did not explode. Bomb squads detonated it after police evacuated the residents and cordoned off the building. Three youngsters ages 7, 10 and 16 have been wounded recently by stray bullets from Syria, the two latest injuries taking place last weekend. Seven-year-old Gamze Nur Yildirim was hit in the underarm by a bullet while she was playing outside her home last Saturday. She was sent to a hospital in Sanliurfa after initial treatment in Ceylanpinar and her situation remains critical. Angry family members protested in front of Ceylanpinar's only state hospital, resulting in a brief scuffle with police. The Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, just across the border from Ceylanpinar, was captured from the Syrian army by anti-regime forces in November. Since then, the town populated by both Arabs and Kurds has been the scene of clashes between the Syrian opposition and fighters from the Kurdish group Democratic Union Party (PYD).