Turkey says jets strike IS targets in Syria

A youth uses binoculars to look at Turkish army tanks holding positions, near the border with Syria, in the outskirts of the village of Elbeyi, east of the town of Kilis, in southeastern Turkey, Thursday, July 23, 2015. Suspected Islamic State militants fired at a Turkish military outpost from a region under IS control, inside Syrian territory Thursday, killing a Turkish soldier and wounding two others, an official said. Turkish troops retaliated to the attack and at least one IS militant was killed, amid a surge of violence in Turkey following a suicide bomb attack near Turkey's border with Syria which killed 32 people. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) A youth uses binoculars to look at Turkish army tanks holding positions, near the border with Syria, in the outskirts of the village of Elbeyi, east of the town of Kilis, in southeastern Turkey, Thursday, July 23, 2015. Suspected Islamic State militants fired at a Turkish military outpost from a region under IS control, inside Syrian territory Thursday, killing a Turkish soldier and wounding two others, an official said. Turkish troops retaliated to the attack and at least one IS militant was killed, amid a surge of violence in Turkey following a suicide bomb attack near Turkey's border with Syria which killed 32 people. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

By Associated Press July 24, 2015 2 min read

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkish warplanes struck Islamic state group targets across the border in Syria, Turkey’s government confirmed Friday.

A government official says three F-16 jets took off from Diyarbakir airbase in southeast Turkey early Friday and used smart bombs to hit three IS targets across the Turkish border province of Kilis. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of government rules requiring prior authorization for comment, said the targets were two command centers and a gathering point of IS supporters.

A government statement said the decision for the operation was taken at a security meeting on Thursday, held after IS militants fired from Syrian territory at a Turkish military outpost, killing a soldier.

The official said the Turkish planes had not violated Syrian airspace.

The bombing followed a decision by Turkey this week to allow the U.S. military to use the Incirlik air base near the border with Syria to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State.