Two killed as volley of rockets strike Turkish border towns

At least two people have been killed and several other injured after a barrage of rockets from Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northwestern region of Afrin struck two Turkish border towns, officials say.

The Hatay governor's office said in a statement that least six rockets targeted the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province on Friday.

The attack wounded at least 18 people, two of whom later died in hospital, it added. The assault also damaged a home, a workplace and a road close to the marketplace.

Meanwhile, Governor Mehmet Tekinarslan said that at least three more rockets struck the town of Kilis, northeast of Reyhanli, where at least three people were wounded.

Several rockets have hit the Turkish border towns of Kilis and Reyhanli in recent days as Ankara presses ahead with its operation against US-backed Kurdish militants in the war-torn Arab country.

Friday's deaths have raised to six the death toll in a salvo of rocket attacks on the two towns since January 20. The victims include a teenage girl and two Syrian refugees.

Nearly two weeks ago, Ankara launched a cross-border offensive into Afrin to rout the Syrian Kurdish militia group it says is linked to insurgents fighting inside Turkey. 

In recent days, Turkey has arrested more than 300 people for social media posts criticizing its military offensive against US-backed Kurdish militants in Syria's northwestern region of Afrin. 

The Interior Ministry said on Monday that a total of 311 people, including politicians, journalists and activists, had been detained for "spreading terrorist propaganda" on social media over the last 10 days.

SS