Photo Credit: C4 Mine
Turkish troops near Syrian border are on high alert.

Turkey has deployed additional troops and more weapons to its border with Syria, after sending reinforcement to the south while Washington was expected to launch a military strike against Syria, Zaman reports.

According to the report, semi-trailer trucks loaded with armored vehicles and tanks were sent midday from a command post in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

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RT cites Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, which reported on Sunday that Turkish fighter jets conducted a patrol flight over the Syrian border due to “increased activity” in the area.

This activity may have been the 2 Syrian jets that were sent toward Cyprus yesterday, and were repelled by the RAF.

Automated firing units using Stinger missiles for very short range air defenses have been set up on top of a high hill in the Syrian border town of Yayladagi in Hatay province, Reuters reported, citing a witness who said that the defense system’s radar was active.

Over the past week, Turkey also moved convoys of military vehicles carrying equipment and personnel between its bases near the southeastern border.

Local media speculated, according to RT, that the Turkish move might be related to an accident last Tuesday, in which a package of live ammunition exploded while being smuggled into Turkey. Six people were killed in the incident at the border.

It has been suggested by the media that the additional troops will be the first to respond to a possible strike by Syria.

But RT is questioning what prompted the decision to send new reinforcements to the border, and do they signal the Turks’ intentions to become more aggressive in their interactions with the Assad government.

In a recent statement, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that Turkey, a supporter of the rebel opposition, is ready to take part in any international coalition against Syria.

“Whether it would be as an opposing force or supplying forces to provide logistical support, all this would be determined by circumstances,” Erdogan said on Sunday.

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