 In April 1563, commanding a force of 10,000 soldiers, he once again laid siege to Oran and Mers-el-Kébir, this time also with the assistance of Turgut Reis who supported him with a force of 20 ships and 20 pieces of siege artillery.Oran once again defended itself to the bitter end, until it was saved by a large Spanish force which arrived in June, but the Turks bombarded and destroyed the Fortress of Mers-el-Kébir.In August 1565 Salih Reis took part in the Turkish Siege of Malta and commanded a force of 15,000 soldiers which attacked Fort Saint Michael.