Jordan bombs Islamic State in Syria two years after pilot burned alive

Jordan said on Saturday its warplanes bombed Islamic State (IS) group positions in southern Syria two years after one of its pilots was captured and killed by the militants.

The kingdom, part of an international coalition battling IS in Syria and Iraq, has intensified its strikes since IS captured Maaz al-Kassasbeh when his plane crashed in Syria in December 2014.

On 3 February 2015, the group released footage showing the pilot being burned alive in a cage, and Friday's strikes came on the second anniversary of the video's release.

"Jordanian Air Force planes, in memory of our martyrs who have fallen in our war against terrorism, on Friday evening targeted various positions of the terrorist gang Daesh in southern Syria," the military said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

It said that the strikes against targets including a captured former Syrian army base killed and wounded several IS members and destroyed an arms depot, a car bomb workshop and a barracks.

Jordanian forces used drones and precision-guided munitions in the operation, which was part of the "kingdom's efforts to eradicate the terrorist group," it said.

Turkey kills 51 IS militants

Turkey, meanwhile, hit 59 IS targets and killed 51 militants in northern Syria as part of its ongoing incursion, the Turkish military said on Saturday.

Turkish forces have surrounded the IS-controlled town of al-Bab for weeks as part of an operation that has been going on for more than five months.

Four of those killed were so-called emirs, or local commanders, the Turkish military said, adding that its jets destroyed 56 buildings and three command control centres in the al-Bab and Bzagah regions.

Coalition forces also conducted eight air strikes in the al-Bab region, destroying two defence positions and two armed vehicles.