Turkish President Abdullah Gul voiced concern from New York on Monday over the infiltration of extremists from Syria to his country.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul voiced concern from New York on Monday over the infiltration of extremists from Syria to his country.

He said extremists from Syria are slipping into Turkey despite heightened security precautions.

"We aren't managing to prevent terrorist infiltrations despite all precautions taken and the deployment of cannons and tanks" along the Turkish-Syrian border, Gul told Turkish press from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

"Radical groups are a big worry when it comes to our security," the Hurriyet daily quoted him as saying.

Turkey, which shares a 900-kilometre border with Syria, is currently sheltering more than 500,000 Syrians who have fled the fighting in their country.

Last week, Turkey temporarily shut part of its border after fighting between Syrian militants and an Al-Qaeda front group in the northern town of Azaz.