Rockets hit Turkish resort of Antalya amid hefty tourism drop

At least two rockets have hit the southern Turkish holiday resort region of Antalya as the country's tourism industry experiences dramatic drop in tourist arrivals.

The rockets, fired by unknown assailants, struck a fish store and open ground near a resort town in the province of Antalya in southern Turkey on Friday, according to the Turkish Dogan news agency.

The report added that the rockets were fired from a mountainous area at the highway between the city of Antalya and the resort town of Kemer.

Sources said special forces police and ambulances have been dispatched to the area. 

No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. 

However, Kurdish and far-left militants have staged similar attacks in the past, mostly against the security forces. At least three Turkish soldiers were injured in an armed attack on their military vehicle near Antalya in August.

The province of Antalya is located next to the popular tourist areas of Marmaris and Bodrum, and just north of Cyprus. Situated on the sun-drenched Mediterranean coast, the Antalya region is one of Turkey's most popular tourist destinations.

Tourist numbers have plunged as a series of bombings, a failed coup in July, and tensions with Russia have kept visitors away. 

The number of foreign visitors to Turkey dropped 38 percent in August and reports say the tourism industry is set to see billions of dollars in lost revenues this year.

Ankara saw a decline in the number of Russian tourists following Turkey’s November shooting of a Russian bomber on the Syrian border.

The country has witnessed rising insecurity over the past few months over deadly bomb attacks. 

Turkey has witnessed at least five major bombing attacks since July last year, when it launched a military campaign against militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern border areas. 

Ankara’s intensified crackdown on Kurdish militants and the retaliatory attacks on security personnel and civilians has created major security setbacks for the country. Attacks have also been carried out by Daesh, the terror group wreaking havoc in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

Several countries also put a ban on travel agencies organizing trips to Turkey due to security concerns following the failed July 15 coup attempt in the country.

Turkey says tourism brought in almost $31.5 billion in revenues in 2015. The government has launched a series of initiatives to limit the losses inflicted on the industry.

Three soldiers killed in Turkey's southeast

At least three soldiers travelling in a military personnel carrier were killed in a roadside bomb attack in southeastern Turkey on Friday.

The Anadolu Agency, citing unnamed security officials, said a bomb exploded on a highway linking the provinces of Mardin and Diyarbakir.

PKK militants were suspected of having planted the bomb on the road.

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale anti-PKK campaign in its southern border region over the past few months. The Turkish military has also been pounding the group’s positions in northern Iraq in breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

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