Turkey's military struck targets inside Syria on Wednesday in response to a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement.
"Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," the statement said.
"Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security."
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had spoken by telephone with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the foreign ministers of several UN Security Council member countries about the incident, the statement said.
The Obama administration said it is "outraged" by the Syrian mortar shell that landed on a home in Turkey, killing at least five people.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US is consulting its NATO ally on what she termed a "very dangerous situation."
She plans to speak to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu later Wednesday.
Among the dead was a 6-year-old boy. Turkish state media reported angry townspeople marching to the local mayor's office to protest the deaths.
Speaking in Washington, Clinton said Syria's leaders were causing untold suffering to their own people, driven solely by their desire to cling to power.
She said responsible nations worldwide must band together to pressure Syria's government into a cease-fire and a political transition.
NATO ambassadors will meet on Wednesday evening to discuss a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians, a NATO official said.
The official said the ambassadors will meet under Article 4 of the NATO charter which provides for consultations when a member state feels its territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat.
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