Civil war in Syria puts Turkey on edge It also underscored Turkey's eagerness to get Patriot missiles as a defensive measure, fearing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad might deploy missiles with chemical warheads in a last-ditch effort to survive. People here worry the missiles could spew poison into the air and waft into Turkey, or even stray into Turkish territory as shells already have on several occasions, including as recently as last weekend. NATO meets Tuesday to decide whether to give the Patriots to Turkey, and Turkish officials have already begun scouting potential locations, even though they may not be deployed for several weeks. Conflicting reports emerged from Damascus about the fate of the spokesman of the Syrian Foreign Ministry, Jihad Makdissi. A statement Monday from the Foreign Ministry said Makdissi, who has strongly defended the government's actions in the civil war, was removed from his post, but remained with the ministry. The announcement prompted speculation that he has defected. But a friend of his reached by phone said he was in London, where he once worked in Syria's diplomatic mission and owns a house. The friend said Makdissi was taking a break from the pressure of being the official face of the government in the media while having no security protection for himself or his family. The friend characterized Makdissi's absence as a "withdrawal" rather than a defection. Expanding threats The frightening incident near Ras al-Ain started in mid-morning on Monday, said a resident of the nearby Turkish town of Ceylanpinar, speaking by phone. Opposition activists said a Syrian plane dropped two bombs on rebels in an area where Kurdish and Islamic rebel forces have recently clashed, roughly 300 yards from the border with Turkey. At least 10 people were reported killed, including three children. Turkish ambulances rushed to the border as civilians ran to safety in Turkey over a sharp, barbed wire fence, and took the injured to the town's hospital. In another example of the Syrian revolt spilling across borders, Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Lebanese soldiers in the Bekaa Valley fired into Syria after "armed men" first shot at them from Syria on Sunday. There were no known casualties. Fighting also continued around the Damascus International Airport, which the Syrian regime had announced on Sunday was open and running scheduled flights for the first time in three days. EgyptAir, however, cancelled a flight while en route from Cairo to Damascus on Monday and ordered it to turn around, citing the "bad security situation," Reuters reported. The towns and suburbs around the airport have been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in recent days between government troops and several rebel units. The Syrian conflict was the focus of talks held in Istanbul Monday between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian president said the two leaders agreed on the need to end the humanitarian crisis, but differences remain in how to do so. Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report.