First NATO missiles installed in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A Patriot missile battery is in place on Turkey's border with Syria, NATO officials said Saturday.

Five more batteries are scheduled for installation in the next few days, CNN reported.

Turkey is a NATO member. Officials with the military alliance say the missile batteries will protect the country against air attack from Syria, which has fired SCUD missiles toward Turkey and -- apparently inadvertently -- hit Turkish territory with artillery shells.

Thousands of Syrian refugees are in Turkey, fleeing what has become a prolonged civil war. Opposition activists said 96 people were killed Saturday, 37 in Aleppo, 29 in the Damascus area and 18 in Homs province.