Turkey retaliates Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham with mortar rounds

Turkish Chief of General Staff has said they responded to a mortar shell fired on Tuesday from Syria's Azaz/Parsa Mountain region with howitzer fire, Anadolu news agency reported.

According to a statement released, the mortal shell fell on Turkish border town of Kilis but didn't explode.

The General Staff said the Turkish army fired on targets belonging to Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham in the region, said the statement.

The Turkish retaliation comes as fierce clashes still going on for the second day near the Turkish crossing border between rebels and al-Qaeda affiliate group at the major Muslim holiday, 'Eid al-Adha' , with no specific numbers about casualties, sources told Zaman Alwasl.

Norht Storm, rebel brigade who oppose the ISIS jihadists were collected their forces at the Bab al-Salameh border crossing but the State of Iraq and Al-Sham seemingly wanted to control the crossing after capturing to border town of Azaz week ago.

 Turkish Authorities reopened Bab al-Salameh border crossing from its side only 3 days ago after being shuttered according the conflict over Azaz town between al-Qaeda affiliate The State of Iraq and al-Sham and the north storm.

Meantime, activists reportedly called on all fighting groups in the contry side of Aleppo to unit to confront he imminent offensive by Assad forces on Sefira city.

The border crossing long used to supply the rebel movement and heightened tensions between rebels who seek the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad and extremists who want to erase Syria’s borders and establish a transnational Islamic state.

 Turkey has kept the crossing closed since Sept. 19 because of security concerns, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said according to NYtimes.

The rise of ISIS in rebel-held areas in northern and eastern Syria has posed a problem for the broader rebel movement. While many insurgents are deeply Islamist themselves, their focus remains on toppling Mr. Assad, and they accuse ISIS of prioritizing its own jihadist agenda over the fight against the president. But the rebels hesitate to confront ISIS, saying their resources are already stretched by fighting the government.