Coalition air forces bomb ISIL on Turkey-Syria border

KİLİS - Doğan News Agency

AFP Photo

Coalition forces have launched an air operation on targets of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) across the border from Turkey’s Kilis province in Syria.

Aircraft from U.S.-led coalition forces bombed ISIL targets in the Bab and Rai regions in northern Syria, at a distance of 10 kilometers from Kilis early on Sep. 14.

The blasts caused fear and panic among residents of Kilis, while the smoke rising from the targets were monitored from Turkey. Security forces boosted measures at the border line.

Turkish jets joined the U.S.-led coalition in the fight against ISIL and hit targets in Syria for the first time on Aug. 28.

The Turkish jets took off from the İncirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana, sources said, adding that the targets were ISIL positions to the north of Aleppo.

The operations came days after an ISIL advance in an area of northern Syria that Ankara and Washington have said they will keep clear of the jihadist group and place under the control of ostensibly moderate rebels. It marked the first time that Turkish jets entered Syrian airspace. 

In July, Turkey took a preliminary step toward joining the counter-offensive by allowing U.S. planes to use İncirlik to attack ISIL positions in Syria. But Turkey’s operations against ISIL have been limited until now.

On July 24, Turkish warplanes attacked ISIL targets in Syria, but not as part of the coalition operation.