HATAY, Turkey
Turkish authorities are putting up a concrete wall along the country's border with Syria after the recent wave of terrorist attacks hitting the southern border regions.
The construction in Reyhanli district of Hatay province comes as part of the tightened security measures along the border following a series of terrorist attacks starting with Suruc bombing on July 20, with at least 33 security force members, 12 civilians killed since.
Hatay Governorate and the 2nd Border Regimental Command cooperate in erecting a three-meter-high concrete wall in Reyhanli's Bukulmez neighborhood, just across Atme town in Syria.
According to Anadolu Agency correspondent on the field, two-meter wide concrete blocks weighing 7 tons each are being aligned on the border using a crane.
The wall, which will stretch eight kilometers, is said to be completed soon.
Since July 24, around 1,700 people have been detained in a wave of counter-terrorism raids, amid a spike in attacks targeting police and the army after a July 20 deadly suicide bombing in the southeastern Suruc district which killed 32 civilians.
Police have been carrying out nationwide anti-terror operations to apprehend suspected PKK, Daesh, and DHKP-C militants -- all three are designated terrorist organizations in Turkey.
The attacks has since led to an extensive anti-terror effort by the Turkish government, which saw Turkish jets bomb PKK camps at home and in northern Iraq, including Qandil Mountains, along with airstrikes against Daesh in Syria.
