Turkey hits Islamic State with fresh artillery strikes

After two mortar rounds hit Karkamis in Turkey, cannons blast jihadist positions in Syria’s Jarablus

By AFP 23 August 2016, 10:47 am

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Turkish artillery fire from the border toward northern Syria, in Kilis, Turkey on Feb. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal)

Turkey shelled Islamic State positions in Syria on Tuesday for a second day, in response to mortar fire from across the border, Turkish media reported.

Two mortar rounds hit the southeastern Turkish town of Karkamis, close to the border and facing the Syrian town of Jarablus, which is held by IS, the CNN-Turk channel reported.

Turkish artillery hit four IS positions in Jarablus with around 60 shells at 6:30 am (0330 GMT), after shelling IS and Democratic Union Party (PYD) Kurdish militia targets in northern Syria on Monday evening.

Turkish army howitzers stationed inside Turkey fired on IS targets in the town of Jarablus and PYD targets around the area of Manbij, the CNN-Turk and NTV channels reported at the time.

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Turkey was deploying tanks and heavy weaponry on the border for the strikes, the reports added.

The reports came after as activists said hundreds of Ankara-backed rebels were preparing an offensive against the IS group in Syria.

This offensive coincides with a similar move by Syrian Kurdish militia, potentially putting them on a collision course in the fight for IS-held Jarablus.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.