ANKARA: Ankara on Monday (Mar 9) confirmed a second ballistic missile was shot down by NATO defences in Turkish airspace, as Washington urged all of its citizens to leave southeast Turkey over security concerns.

Since the US-Israeli attacks began on Feb 28, Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes across the Middle East in a bid to hit US assets.

So far, Türkiye appears to have been spared, despite the fact that US troops are stationed at several of its bases, one of which is the Incirlik airbase, which lies just outside the southern city of Adana.

But on Monday, the US embassy in Türkiye said it had closed its consulate in Adana and advised non-essential staff to leave, with the State Department urging all US citizens to leave the southeast.

"On Mar 9, 2026, the Department of State ordered non-emergency US government employees and US government employee family members to leave Consulate General Adana due to the safety risks," the embassy said on X.

It referenced a State Department travel advisory saying: "Americans in southeast Türkiye are strongly encouraged to depart now."

Barely an hour later, Türkiye's defence ministry confirmed another ballistic missile fired from Iran had been intercepted in Turkish airspace by NATO defence systems in the second such incident in five days.

"A ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was neutralised by NATO air and missile defence assets in the eastern Mediterranean," it said in a statement.

Some fragments from the weaponry fell in open territory in the Gaziantep area, about 200km east of Adana, causing no injuries, the ministry added.

Incirlik air base is an important NATO facility that has been used by US troops for decades which is located just 10km outside Adana.

FRAGMENTS HIT CONSTRUCTION SITE

Some fragments from the weaponry fell in open territory in the Gaziantep area, about 200km east of Adana, causing no injuries, the ministry added.

"At around 11.30am (4.30pm, Singapore time), a fragment of ballistic munition fell onto an empty area above the TOKI housing estate in the Guneysehir district of Gaziantep," the governor's office said, adding there was no damage.

Images from the scene appeared to show the missile fragment lying on the ground at a building site.

"We were sitting at home when suddenly we heard a big bang. Since there's a construction site here, we thought the noise was coming from there. But when we came and looked, we saw the missile fragment," local resident Ramazan Akpinar told DHA news agency.

He said it made a loud noise but there was "no explosion". 

In a post on X, presidential communications chief Burhanettin Duran said Türkiye would not hesitate to protect its airspace and border security.

"We once again strongly reiterate our warning to all parties, particularly Iran, to refrain from actions that could endanger regional security and put civilians at risk," he wrote.

On Mar 4, NATO troops intercepted a Türkiye-bound ballistic missile launched from Iran, prompting the alliance to strengthen its "ballistic missile defence posture" as Iran steps up its strikes across the region.

Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the missile was spotted by Spanish troops manning a Patriot missile battery, who are based at Incirlik.

They had "detected and reported the missile attack", though they were not the ones that shot it down, she said.