Syrian troops bomb rebel-held town

Government troops bombed a rebel-held Syrian village near Turkey Tuesday following a confrontation with Israeli tanks in the Golan Heights a day earlier. The attacks came after the Syrian opposition announced a unity pact that drew praise from foreign powers backing the rebel effort to oust President Bashar Assad, The New York Times reported. Witnesses said the aerial assault on Ras al-Ain, yards from the Turkish border, killed at least 20 people and destroyed several structures Monday and Tuesday. Ras al-Ain is an unofficial crossing point for thousands of Syrians fleeing for Turkey. Witnesses said the force of the bombings shattered windows in businesses and houses in Ceylanpinar, Turkey, just across the border, the Times said. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu protested the Ras al-Ain bombing to Syria Monday, the Anatolian News Agency reported. In Israel, military leaders said Israeli tanks deployed in the Golan Heights, seized by Israel from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, hit a Syrian mobile artillery launcher Monday after several days of mortar fire from the Syrian side of the cease-fire line. Military officials and analysts in Israel told the Times they think the shelling was unintentional and Israel doesn't want to be drawn into the Syria conflict, which began in March 2011. Activist organizations estimate about 40,000 people have died and more than 400,000 refugees have fled to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. In Doha, Qatar, Syrian opposition officials reached agreement Sunday to form a new umbrella organization that could provide the basis for a provisional government. The Times said the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces would be allowed to take Syria's seat at the Arab League, which expelled Assad's representative. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement the agreement "would add momentum to efforts in completing the democratic transition process in line with the legitimate expectations of the people."