Athens, February 16 (RHC)-- Turkish military planes have violated Greece's airspace over the Aegean islands multiple times, Greek media reports say.  Six Turkish fighter jets and a navy transport plane carried out over 20 airspace violations in the vicinity of eastern and central Aegean islands, the state-run Athens News Agency reported on Monday.

According to the report, two of the war planes were armed and twice engaged in mock dogfights with Greek planes that had scrambled to intercept them.  Greece and Turkey, both NATO members, are engaged in a centuries-old dispute over territorial and airspace ownership in the Aegean.

The violation occurred as NATO prepares to launch naval patrols in the waters separating both countries in an attempt to ward off human smuggling vessels ferrying large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers into Europe.