World / Turkey Turkey Sends Fighter Jets to Syria Border Syria allegedly sent helicopters too close to neighbor By Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff Posted Jul 1, 2012 3:12 PM CDT Copied Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sits in the cockpit of Turkey's first locally produced military training plane, outside Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. (AP Photo) Tensions heightened along the Turkey-Syria border yesterday as Syrian helicopters flew too close and Turkey dispatched six fighter jets to scare them off, the Turkish army says. The F-16s reportedly responded to three such incidents, although the helicopters never violated Turkish airspace. Turkey says it has begun placing rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns on its border since Syria allegedly shot down its F-4 Phantom jet about a week ago, the BBC reports. US intelligence has cast doubts on some aspects of Turkey's story, however... (More Turkey stories.) Report an error