Syria says Turkey's bid for NATO missiles "provocative"

Buildings are damaged after a Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad fired missiles at Daria near Damascus November 23, 2012. REUTERS/Kenan Al-Derani/Shaam News Network/Handout

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday condemned Turkey's request for NATO to deploy Patriot defence missiles near their common border, calling it "provocative", after a spate of clashes there that has raised fear of the Syrian civil war embroiling the wider region.

The 20-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has turned increasingly bloody and heavy fighting has often erupted right along Syria's northern border with Turkey. Ankara has repeatedly scrambled fighter jets and responded in kind to stray shells and mortars flying into its territory.