Syrian opposition fighters surrender to Turkey after border skirmish

Eighty-five armed militants of the Northern Storm Brigade fighting with Syria's opposition have yielded to Turkish authorities at a border checkpoint following a Turkish strike on Syrian territory, local television reported. They surrendered after Turkish forces responded with howitzer fire to a mortar shell which landed, unexploded, 450 metres from a police station in Turkey's Kilis province, according to Turkish general staff sources which report the mountainous area of Azaz/Parsa as being controlled by the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Islamic State of Iraq. Fighting between the Syrian opposition and al-Qaeda-linked groups continues on Syrian territory, a few kilometres from the border with Kilis province. The Turkish army has repeatedly used parliamentary authorisation to use force in response to threats from Syria. Turkey's border has been the scene of several incidents involving return fire after bombardment from the Syrian side.