Turkey carried out a wave of attacks in two regions Saturday.  The military continued attacks it began Friday, targeting Islamic State jihadists in Syria. In addition, Turkey began a new air campaign in northern Iraq on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK.   

“Strikes were carried out on targets of the Daesh (IS) terror group in Syria and the PKK terror group in northern Iraq,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said in a statement.   

The strike on the PKK marks the first time Turkey has hit the Kurds in Iraq from the air since a peace accord was announced in 2013.  A government statement said Turkey’s jets hit PKK shelters, bunkers, storage facilities and other “logistic points.”  

PKK spokesman Bakhtiar Dogan told the French news agency “Turkish warplanes started bombing our positions near the border, accompanied by heavy artillery shelling.”

On Friday, Turkey launched cross-border airstrikes against Islamic State targets and opened its air bases to U.S. warplanes attacking extremist forces in Syria.

The Foreign Ministry in Ankara said U.S.-led coalition forces could operate from all air bases in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border.

Operations inside Syria

A Turkish statement said it would also take part in anti-Islamic State operations inside Syria. Turkish officials say they expect the increased cooperation with U.S. forces will “make a difference” in the campaign against the extremists.

Three of Ankara’s F-16 fighter jets took off from Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey early Friday and dropped guided bombs on an Islamic State headquarters and another site  facility in Syrian territory, Turkish officials said.

Turkish media reports another mission took off late Friday. The airstrikes were Turkey’s first against Islamic State targets in Syria.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters the Turkish pilots hit their targets “with 100 percent accuracy” and returned safely to their bases. He vowed that Turkey “will not turn a blind eye” to the threat from Islamic State fighters

“Our message is quite clear: I have given full authority to the Turkish armed forces that whoever causes any threat to the borders of the Republic of Turkey will be responded to accordingly without any further notice,” he added.

Incirlik Air Base

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey has agreed to let American jets use the U.S.-operated Incirlik Air Base for combat missions against Islamic State. He held telephone consultations with President Barack Obama earlier this week on relaxing Turkish restrictions on U.S. combat missions originating in Turkish territory.

Turkey has seen itself drawn into more cross-border clashes in recent weeks. Islamic State fighters in Syria and the Turkish military engaged in a skirmish Thursday that left at least one Turkish officer dead.

Thirty-two people, mostly young activists preparing for an aid mission to Syria, were killed Monday in a devastating suicide bombing in Suruc, Turkey. The Turkish government blames Islamic State.

Massive raids

Also Friday, Turkish officials said 251 people were arrested during massive raids at dawn nationwide, targeting both Islamic State and Kurdish militant groups.

More than 5,000 police officers, backed by helicopters, raided at least 100 locations across Istanbul, media reports said.
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