Friday, July 24, 2015

Turkey bombs Islamic State targets in Syria

A Turkish Air Force fighter jet makes a landing approach at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, Friday, Aug. 30, 2013.

Turkish planes have for the first time carried out air strikes against Islamic State (IS) group targets in Syria.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the air strikes, on three IS positions, "completely destroyed" their targets.

On Thursday, Turkish forces exchanged fire with IS fighters near the Syrian border. One Turkish soldier was killed.

In the early hours of Friday, police launched raids against IS and Kurdish militants across the country, arresting 297 people.

In Istanbul, more than 5,000 officers helped search 140 properties.

Members of the youth wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and of a far-left group, the Marxist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party Front (DHKP-C), were also arrested.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said there were also arrests in the cities of Ankara and Izmir and in Sanliurfa province, near the Syrian border.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operations against militants would continue.

The arrests come after the PKK's military wing said it killed two Turkish police officers on Wednesday. The group claims the men collaborated with IS in the bombing of a Kurdish activists' group on Monday that killed 32 people.

Turkish plainclothes police officers escort a suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) group at a hospital for a medical check-up on 24 July 2015 in Istanbul.
Raids on IS suspects took place in cities across Turkey early on Friday morning  

Separately, Turkey said that F-16 jets had hit three IS targets in Syria.

It is the first time Turkey has confirmed air strikes against targets in Syria since IS began its advance through Iraq and Syria in 2013.

Turkish state TV said that the jets had not violated Syrian air space as they attacked the border village of Havar, next to the Turkish town of Kilis.

The US is expected to step up bombing raids against IS after reaching an agreement with Turkey to use the Incirlik airbase.

The agreement was finalised in a phone call between President Barack Obama and Mr Erdogan on Wednesday. It was confirmed by US officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33646314

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