U.S. troops arrived in Turkey on Friday to man Patriot missile defense batteries near the Syrian border , Turkish state media said . The move was made after Syria launched Scud missiles at cities near the Turkish border . In response , the U.S. , Germany and the Netherlands have deployed Patriot air defense missiles to the border region to intercept any Syrian ballistic missiles . U.S. officials : Syria using more accurate , Iranian-made missiles . The missiles and troops are under the control of NATO , but the missiles are to be operated by U.S. forces . A group of 27 U.S. troops landed in Gaziantep , Turkey , where they will survey the Patriot deployment , Turkish state news agency Anadolu said . U.S. officials did not release any information about the troops ' arrival , but had said last month that forces would be deployed to Turkey . `` We 've made very clear to them that we 're going to protect countries in this region , '' Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last month . `` We have to act to do what we have to do to make sure that we defend ourselves and make sure that Turkey can defend itself . '' The fight for a helicopter airport . Meanwhile , Free Syrian Army fighters tried Friday for the third consecutive day to wrest control of a helicopter base from government forces . If successful , the assault on Taftanaz Air Base in northern Syria would shut President Bashar al-Assad 's military helicopter pads and diminish his ability to launch airstrikes in the region . Opposition and government sources reported that the extremist Nusra Front , which the United States has designated as a terrorist group , was taking part in the assault on the airport . Al-Assad has exacted retribution on the nearby city of Binnish , where amateur video posted on the Internet shows dozens of smoke plumes marking where ordnance has struck . Read more : Getting to know Syria 's first family . On Thursday , rebels posted videos of themselves firing on the air base with truck-mounted machine guns and a captured tank , destroying one government tank and appearing to shoot down a helicopter . CNN can not confirm the authenticity of videos from the Syrian conflict posted online . Read more : Patriot missiles a warning to Syria 's al-Assad . Gas station attack in Damascus . In Damascus , an explosion at a gas station near a hospital killed 10 people Friday , Syrian TV reported . An opposition organization expected the toll to rise as many of the wounded were in critical condition after fire spread to nearby cars and buildings . The explosion came from a car bomb , the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on its Facebook page . Read more : What 's next for Syria . Appeal for missing U.S. journalist . In New Hampshire , the parents of American journalist James Foley appealed Thursday to his kidnappers to release him and inform them of his whereabouts and condition of his health . Read more : American journalist abducted in Syria . Foley 's father choked up while reading a statement directed at the abductors . `` We 'd like them to contact us , '' he said . `` I ask the captors for their compassion and James ' quick release . '' Foley was abducted in November in Syria , where he has worked for a year . He had been detained before while working in Libya but was released by the government . Read more : Missing American journalist 's parents : Send our son home . The rapidly mounting death toll . At least 129 people were killed across Syria on Friday , according to the Local Coordination Committees , an opposition activist network . CNN can not independently confirm those numbers . The overall death toll in Syria has surpassed 60,000 people , the United Nations said Wednesday . That 's roughly the population of Terre Haute , Indiana ; or Cheyenne , Wyoming . It 's how many people would fit in Dodger Stadium , and it 's more than the 50,000-plus U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam . Read more : U.N. 's Syria death toll jumps to 60,000-plus . On Thursday , al-Assad 's forces bombed the Damascus suburb of Douma with airstrikes . In videos posted on the Internet , residents could be seen combing through rubble and pulling out bodies .
At least 129 people were killed across Syria on Friday , an opposition official said . For a third time , rebels attempted to wrest control of a helicopter base from government forces . Parents of a kidnapped U.S. journalist in Syria are pleading for his release . An explosion at a gas station in Damascus kills 10 people .