NATO shoots down another Iranian missile near Turkey

NATO on Monday shot down an Iranian ballistic missile in Turkish airspace, marking the second time in a week that the alliance’s air defenses have been put into action, Turkish officials said.

Air defenses in the eastern Mediterranean Sea shot down the incoming missile, producing debris that landed in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, the Turkish defense ministry said.  No injuries or fatalities were caused by the missile fragment, the ministry said.

Turkey is home to Incirlik Air Base, a strategic hub for U.S. forces that sits near the eastern edge of the Mediterranean.

Last week, NATO increased its ballistic missile defense posture across the alliance in response to threats emanating from Iran. On Wednesday, NATO’s air defense system shot down a ballistic missile approaching Turkish airspace.

NATO’s missile defense system incorporates a range of capabilities, bringing together U.S. Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland as well as U.S Navy destroyers out of Rota, Spain.

A high-powered mountaintop radar in Kurecik, Turkey, also is part of the integrated defense system.