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Turkish army destroys ISIS targets in Syria’s north

Afterwards, they reportedly fired warning shots in the air and then at the height of the border wall, which some people were trying to climb, forcing them to flee.

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Turkey now houses around 2.7 million registered Syrian refugees – 280,000 of whom live in camps.

TURKISH border guards shot dead almost a dozen Syrian refugees, including several children, yesterday (Sunday) as they tried to cross into the country.

A senior Turkish official said Turkey was investigating the latest allegations of shootings but was “unable to independently verify the claims”.

The National Coalition umbrella opposition group – based in Istanbul and backed by Turkey – gave a higher toll of 11 killed and condemned the “terrible tragedy”.

A further eight people were injured, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group.

Refugees and their children wait for the arrival of European leaders at Nizip refugee camp near Gaziantep, Turkey.

Numerous victims were from the same family, which had recently fled the northern Islamic State-held town of Jarabulus.

Minbij is strategically important as it controls a supply route from the Turkish border to Raqqa.

There have been reports of shootings on the border since at least 2013, and rights groups fear that the number of incidents has increased since European countries, including Britain, began pressing Turkey to curb migration flows towards Europe late past year.

At least eight people were killed, including four women, three children and a man, as they attempted to cross the Syrian-Turkish border.

Humanitarian bodies have urged Turkey to reopen its borders to admit Syrians fleeing the conflict.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied the reports, and the Turkish army says it only fires at armed smugglers, not at civilians.

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An HRW report last month accused Turkish border guards of regularly shooting and assaulting Syrian civilians trying to cross from Syria in search of asylum.

The Syrian government as well as Kurdish-led rebel forces are battling to oust ISIL from Raqqa