1 dead, 7 injured in Turkish crackdown on smugglers

Turkey has carried out a security crackdown on smugglers on border with Syria, leaving one of them dead and seven others injured, the Turkish military said in a statement on Wednesday. On Wednesday, a group of 70 smugglers tried to cross a bridge from Syria to the Turkish territories near Narlica town of Hatay in southern Turkey, said the statement. The security forces warned the group before opening fire at them as they attacked the troops by hurling stones and using sticks, the statement said, adding that two soldiers and two smugglers were wounded during the confrontations. On late Tuesday, two smugglers were injured when the security forces blocked another smuggling attempt near Akcakale town of Sanliurfa province in southern Turkey. In a third incident, a group of smugglers who were shipping illegal oil in the Narlica town of southern Hatay province was intercepted by the troops, said the statement, adding that one Turkish soldier was slightly wounded during the operation. Also, a smuggler died at hospital after being shot by the Turkish forces near Viransehir town of Sanliurfa.