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- NEW:Deadline nears for threatened killing of Iranian activists held by rebels
- Turkish prime minister warns Syria against making a "deadly mistake"
- In Syria, fighting and shelling continue
- 37 dead from fighting inside Syria, activists say
(CNN) -- Turkish soldiers returned fire Saturday after a shell from Syria landed near a border village, state media reported, as clashes between the two neighbors entered a fourth day.
The shell hit the countryside of a Turkish village in Hatay province, about 50 meters (164 feet) into Turkey, the local government said.
"It is thought that the shell was aimed at the Syrian opposition groups stationed on the Syrian border by the Syrian Arab Republic security forces," the Hatay provincial government said in a statement. "Our border troops have taken security precautions and continue monitoring activities."
The semi-official Anadolu Agency said Turkish soldiers had returned fire after the shell hit.
From the border village of Guvecci, residents could hear sporadic gunfire. Smoke filled the air as fires in the area torched trees, residents said.
"It's not really possible to go outside. It's dangerous to go outside," said Turhan Tomak. "They lit the forest on fire. We have no forest left. It hurts my insides, all our forests are gone."
Hamza Tuncer, another resident, said people are fearful.
"How can we not be afraid? Listen you can hear the gun fighting," Tuncer said during a phone interview. "No one is going outside."
Clashes between the two started Wednesday when shelling from Syria hit the Turkish town of Akcakale, killing five civilians and injuring nine others.
The U.N. Security Council condemned the shelling and appealed for restraint from both countries.
Syria "is not seeking any escalation with any of its neighbors, including Turkey," Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters Thursday after expressing his government's "deepest condolences" over the shelling.
A day later, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned the shelling and warned Syria.
"It would be a deadly mistake to test Turkey's deterrence, determination and capacity," he said.
In other developments:
Shelling, fighting continue
Fighting continued Saturday between rebel and government forces near the Turkish border after rebels seized a nearby town, opposition groups reported.
Rebels took Khirbet al-Jouz after seven hours of fighting, according to the Local Coordination Commitees, a network of opposition activists.
Fierce fighting was reported in several other cities including Damascus, Homs and Aleppo, opposition activists said.
The fighting left at least 37 people dead Saturday, including 23 in Homs, according to activists.
Saturday marks deadline for Iranian hostages
Iranian officials urged international groups to act to stop the threatened killing of 48 Iranian citizens by Syrian rebels, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
In a video posted to YouTube, the rebels holding the hostages have threatened to begin killing them Saturday unless the Syrian regime releases rebel detainees and stops what the rebels called the "ongoing random slaughter" of innocent civilians.
The group, the Revolutionary Council of Eastern Ghouta, said one hostage would die for each Syrian killed by government forces.
The hostages were kidnapped in August while on what Iran has described as a religious pilgrimage. The rebels have described the hostages as members of Iran's military, an assertion Iran has denied.
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