Turkish troops have fired artillery into Syria in retaliation for the shelling of a Turkish border town on 3 October.

According to local reports, the Turkish retaliatory attack killed several Syrian soldiers. The Turkish fire was in response to the shelling of the Turkish border town of Akcakala, supposedly by government troops. The attack killed a woman and three children.

“Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement,” said a statement released from the office of Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The response from Turkey is the first time that the state has fired into neighbouring Syria, since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

Turkey’s envoy to the UN, Ertugrul Apakan, has urged the Un Security Council to take “necessary action” to prevent further cross-border fire from Syria.

The UN Security Council is due to meet on 4 October to condemn Syria’s actions.

According to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, more than 28,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Al-Assad began.