Turkey bombs Daesh positions in Syria

Turkish warplanes have launched air strikes against Deash (Islamic State) positions in Syria, the government confirmed early Friday morning.

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

Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish Prime Minister, said Turkish F-16 based in Diyarbakir attacked three IS targets with guided bombs at dawn on Friday, including what it described as headquarters of the militant group and an assembly point.

In the early hours of Friday, Davutoglu´s office further announced that Turkish police have detained at least 297 people in orchestrated raids across the country, targeting suspected cells of Isis and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

In Istanbul, one female member of the radical leftist DHKP-C was reportedly killed during the operation. 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.

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.

FIRST TURKISH ATTACK

Until now, Turkey had been hesitant for months to get involved in the fight against Daesh.

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.

But a statement from Davutoglu’s office said the raids were conducted “without distinction” against all terrorist groups in 13 provinces.

“The State of the Turkish Republic is adamant on fighting all terrorism without distinction as it has always done, be it the terrorist organisation of Daesh, the terrorist organisation of the PKK or any other international terrorist organisation,” the statement read.

The air raids on Syria come after a bloody few days on the Turkish side of the Syrian border, including the attack in Suruç, the PKK killings and the cross-border attack by Isis, threatens to draw Turkey further into the Syrian quagmire.

AGREEMENT WITH USA

Friday morning’s bombings followed a decision by Turkey to open the key Inçirlik air base near the border with Syria for its western allies launching air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria.

Turkish media reported that the deal with the US foresees a 56-mile no-fly-zone along the Syrian border to back up a “safe zone” on the ground aimed at preventing infiltration by Isis and other jihadist and to discourage a new flow of refugees to Turkey.

Erdogan confirmed the agreement, which he said allowed for operations “within a certain framework”. He did not elaborate on the agreement’s details.

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.

This is a great change in Turkey´s policy, because it had long resisted calls by Barack Obama’s administration to allow the coalition to use bases in the country as staging grounds for coalition air raids.

Turkey's government has vowed to continue targeting Islamic State militants.