Turkish army kills 55 IS members in Syria: reports
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that his country is willing to send ground troops into Syria 'if necessary'
In this picture taken from the Turkish-Syrian border region near Kilis, the flag of the Islamic State group flies at the top of a flagpole on the Syrian side of the border (AFP)
Published date: 8 May 2016 11:27 BST
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Last update: 8 years ago
Turkish forces launched a salvo of artillery strikes on northern Syria that killed 55 members of the Islamic State group, Turkish news agencies reported Sunday.
Artillery units stationed near the border struck IS group targets near Aleppo Saturday evening, destroying three missile launchers and three vehicles according to the state-run Anatolia news agency and the Dogan news service.
The reports could not immediately be independently verified.
Since the start of the year, the Turkish border town of Kilis has come under frequent attack from rockets fired across the border from Syria that have killed at least 21 people, prompting the army to respond with howitzer fire.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said last week that Turkey is ready to send troops into Syria "if necessary". Turkey has previously discussed a land invasion but ruled out intervening alone.
Turkey, which has been hit by attacks blamed on IS including two deadly suicide bombings in Istanbul that targeted foreign tourists, began to carry out air strikes against the IS group in Syria last summer.
Ankara also allows US jets to use its air base in southern Turkey for air strikes on the IS group in Syria.
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