Turkey strikes targets inside Syria after mortar attack

Smoke rises over the streets after an mortar bomb landed from Syria in the border village of Akcakale, southeastern Sanliurfa province, October 3, 2012.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's military struck targets inside Syria on Wednesday in response to a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement.

"Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," the statement said.

"Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security."

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had spoken by telephone with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the foreign ministers of several U.N. Security Council member countries about the incident, the statement said.

Davutoglu had also agreed with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the need for an emergency meeting of NATO members, the statement said.

(Reporting by Mert Ozkan; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Michael Roddy)