Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu gives a statement on the situation with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other militant groups during a press conference after his visit at the Turkish Council of State in Ankara on July 24, 2015. (AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN)
The bombing is a strong tactical shift for Turkey, which had long been reluctant to join the US-led coalition against the extremist group.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said the airstrikes had “removed potential threats” to Turkey and targets were hit with “100 percent accuracy.” He did not rule out further strikes, saying Turkey was determined to stave off all terror threats against it.
“This was not a point operation, this is a process,” Davutoğlu said. “It is not limited to one day or to one region… The slightest movement threatening Turkey will be retaliated against in the strongest way possible.”
Turkish police on Friday launched a major operation against terror groups including ISIS, carrying out simultaneous raids in Istanbul and 12 provinces and detaining more than 290 people.
A government official said three F-16 jets took off from Diyarbakir Air Base in southeast Turkey early Friday and used smart bombs to hit three ISIS targets. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of government rules requiring authorization for comment, said the targets were two command centers and a gathering point of ISIS supporters.
Turkish media said the targets were the Syrian village of Hawar Al-Naht, near the border, but officials would not confirm the location.
The private Doğan news agency said as many as 35 ISIS militants were killed in the airstrike on the gathering point. The agency did not cite a source for the report and there was no official confirmation.
A government statement said the airstrikes were approved at a meeting on Thursday, held after five ISIS militants fired from Syrian territory at the outpost and prompting Turkish retaliation that killed at least one ISIS militant.
Davutoğlu said Turkish planes did not violate Syrian airspace on Friday, but he did not rule out incursions in the future.
He denied news reports claiming that Turkey had informed the Syrian regime about the airstrikes, but said it had contacted NATO allies before the operation.
The bombing followed a decision by Turkey this week to allow the US military to use the Incirlik Air Base near the Syrian border to launch airstrikes against ISIS, senior US officials said.
Turkey has yet to publicly confirm the agreement, which US officials discussed on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly. Citing operational security, the White House declined to confirm the agreement, but noted that President Barack Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had agreed to “deepen our cooperation” against ISIS in their phone call Wednesday.
Asked about the agreement Friday, Davutoglu said negotiations with the United States had reached a “certain level” and that Turkey’s concerns were being addressed.
“Concrete steps will be taken in the coming days,” Davutoğlu said.
The agreement follows months of US appeals to Turkey and delicate negotiations over the use of Incirlik and other bases by the US-led coalition — a sensitive topic in Turkey.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said as many as 5,000 police officers were involved in Friday’s sweep against suspected extremists which was also targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish rebel group, and the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Army-Front (DHKP-C), the outlawed far-left group.
Davutoğlu said those detained included 37 foreign nationals but did not give details on their home countries.
One DHKP-C suspect, a woman, was killed in a gunfight with police in Istanbul, Anadolu reported.
Turkey’s moves came as the country finds itself drawn further into the conflict by a series of deadly attacks and signs of increased ISIS activity inside the country.
Earlier in the week, a suicide bombing blamed on ISIS militants killed 32 people in a town near the Syrian border.
Turkish officials have raised concerns that the bombing was part of a campaign of retaliation for Turkey’s recent crackdown on ISIS operations in the country. In the last six months, Turkish officials say, more than 500 people suspected of working with ISIS have been detained.