Syrian troops thwarted an infiltration attempt by armed groups from neighbouring Turkey, state television reported Friday, a day after the two countries launched reciprocal cross-border attacks, dpa reported.
The broadcaster added that the armed groups were trying to sneak into the Syrian border town of Khirbet al-Jous.
"The Syrian troops confronted and killed most of the infiltrators, many of whom were foreigners, including a Turkish citizen," reported the television broadcast.
Turkey's parliament Thursday approved a government request to carry out a possible military operation inside Syria.
Turkey this week shelled targets inside Syria in retaliation for a Wednesday mortar attack, which killed five Turkish civilians.
Meanwhile, a brigade of the rebel Free Syrian Army has threatened to kill 48 Iranians it captured in the capital Damascus in August.
The brigade claimed in a statement that the Iranian hostages are members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. Iran has said the captives are Muslim Shiite pilgrims.
The Syrian opposition has repeatedly accused Iran of helping the government of President Bashar al-Assad in crushing a pro-democracy uprising that started in March last year.