Turkey scrambled on Friday two fighter jets after a Syrian helicopter allegedly shelled the Syrian town of Azmarin near their common border.

Turkey scrambled on Friday two fighter jets after a Syrian helicopter allegedly shelled the Syrian town of Azmarin near their common border.

Fighting between the Syrian government and rebels recently erupted in Azmarin, with several refugees fleeing the violence by crossing the border into Turkey yesterday. The town is approximately one kilometer from the Turkish border.

Tensions between Ankara and Damascus have run high following a brief cross-border shelling attack last week, and after Turkey grounded a Syrian commercial jet en route from Moscow to Damascus on Wednesday over suspicions the plane was carrying illegal cargo.

Syria accused Ankara of ‘air piracy,’ and insisted that none of the plane’s cargo was illegal.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it has not received an explanation from Turkey detailing the plane’s cargo and its seizure. Moscow slammed Turkey for sending F-16s fighter jets to force the plane to land, endangering the lives of the flight’s 35 passengers.

Russian diplomats and doctors were also not allowed to meet the 17 Russian nationals on board the plane, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aleksandr Lukashevich said. Moreover, as the cargo was being inspected, the passengers were forced to spend nine hours on the plane, and no food was provided.

Turkey has recently increased its military deployments on the volatile Syrian border, including F-16 fighter jets and tanks.

On Wednesday, Turkish Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel threatened his troops would respond "with greater force" if the shelling continued.