Turkish Army Seizes Armed Insurgent at Turkish-Syrian Border

ANKARA, December 26 (Sputnik) — Batches of ammunition have been seized from insurgents attempting to illegally cross the Syrian-Turkish border in the southern Turkish province of Gaziantep, the country's General Staff said in a statement on Friday.

According to the statement, eight militants attempted to enter Turkey from Syria but were detected by the Turkish border patrol, which then fired warning shots. Seven insurgents fled back into Syria, one was arrested.

The apprehended militant was found with 15 cumulative RPG-7 munitions, eight radios with batteries and texts encrypted in Arabic.

The Turkish General Staff added that last week alone nearly 700 people, mostly smuggling goods, were detained at the Turkish-Syrian border.

Damascus has repeatedly claimed that foreign jihadists, heavy weaponry and supplies are moving freely into Syria across its 900-kilometer border with Turkey, and that close control of Turkey's border is imperative to defeating the Islamic State (IS) radical group. Allegations that Turkey is directly or indirectly supporting militants attempting to take down Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime have been denied by Ankara.