Turkey authorises military operations in Syria, Damascus apologises

State media said Thursday that Turkey's Parliament has approved a bill authorising the military to conduct cross-border operations in Syria after a deadly shelling from the Syrian territory killed five civilians. The Anadolu Agency said legislators on Thursday voted in favour of the bill that gives the government authority for one year to send troops or warplanes to strike Syrian targets whenever it deems it necessary. A senior official has said Turkey has no intention of declaring war but the move adds a dangerous new dimension to a conflict that is pulling Syria's neighbours deeper into what already resembles a proxy conflict. Turkey's deputy prime minister indicated that Syria has admitted it was responsible for the shelling that killed five civilians in Turkey and has formally apologised for the deaths. Besir Atalay noted that Syria has reassured the UN that "such an incident will not occur again." The cross-border tensions escalated on Wednesday after a shell fired from inside Syria landed on a home in the Turkish village of Akcakale, killing a woman, her three daughters and another woman, and wounding at least 10 others, according to Turkish media.