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Turkey begins anti-IS campaign in Syria Syria Jarablus: Turkey pounds IS positions ahead of ground operation
(about 2 hours later)
The Turkish military has launched an operation to clear the Syrian border town of Jarablus of so-called Islamic State (IS) militants, officials say. Heavy shelling of so-called Islamic State positions has marked the start of a Turkish offensive to drive the militants away from the Syrian border.
Turkish special forces inside Syria were supported by Turkish and US-led coalition air strikes, the government said. Artillery and rocket launchers rained 224 rounds on the Jarablus area, the military said, as Turkish jets bombed their first targets in Syria this year.
The operation comes as Syrian rebels prepare to launch an assault on the town from Turkish territory. Tanks could later be seen moving up to the border and opening fire.
Turkish special forces are already inside Syria as part of the operation to clear IS out of Jarablus.
If Jarablus falls, the jihadists will be pushed back from the Turkish border.
Turkey has also hit Syrian Kurdish forces in the region, determined not to let them fill the vacuum if IS leaves, the BBC's Mark Lowen reports from Gaziantep, near the Syrian border.
The concern in Ankara is that the Kurds could create an autonomous area close to the border which might foster Kurdish separatism within Turkey itself, our correspondent says.
In another development, counter-terror police in Turkey's main city, Istanbul, launched dawn raids targeting IS suspects across the city, Turley's Dogan news agency reports.
Turkey has vowed to "completely cleanse" IS from its border region.Turkey has vowed to "completely cleanse" IS from its border region.
"The Turkish Armed Forces and the International Coalition Air Forces have launched a military operation aimed at clearing the district of Jarablus of the province of Aleppo from the terrorist organisation Daesh," said a statement from the Turkish prime minister's office, using another term for IS. "The Turkish Armed Forces and the International Coalition Air Forces have launched a military operation aimed at clearing the district of Jarablus of the province of Aleppo from the terrorist organisation Daesh [IS]," said a statement from the Turkish prime minister's office.
Turkey blames IS for a bomb attack that killed dozens of people in the south of the country at the weekend. Turkey blames IS for a bomb attack on a wedding that killed at least 54 people in Gaziantep on Saturday.
The Turkish army began shelling Jarablus at about 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT), the state-run Anadolu news agency said. A force of 1,500 Turkish-backed Syrian rebels is said to be waiting in the city to take part in the Jarablus operation.
It had earlier ordered residents in the Turkish town of Karkamis - just across the border from Jarablus - to evacuate after the town was hit by IS mortar fire. Shelling began at about 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT) and US jets flew missions as well as Turkish, military sources told Reuters news agency.
Turkey's backing of a Syrian rebel assault on Jarablus, to be launched from its territory, is also seen as an attempt to prevent the town falling into the hands of Syrian Kurdish forces. The Turkish town of Karkamis - just across the border from Jarablus - was evacuated as a precaution following earlier IS mortar attacks.
In recent days the Turkish military has shelled positions belonging to the Kurdish YPG militia, apparently to deter them from taking Jarablus themselves. Turkey's air strikes are its first inside Syria since the downing of a Russian jet in November. Moscow and Ankara only mended ties in June after punitive Russian sanctions.
In recent days the Turkish military also shelled positions belonging to the Kurdish YPG militia, apparently to deter them from taking Jarablus themselves.
Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Turkish-Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy since the 1980s.Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Turkish-Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy since the 1980s.
However the YPG is backed by the US in the battle against IS and has been gaining territory in northern Syria. On Tuesday it took control of most of the northeastern Syrian town of Hassakeh. However the YPG is backed by the US in the battle against IS and has been gaining territory in northern Syria.
Syrian government forces are not directly involved in the battle for the border at Jarablus, having gradually lost ground in the north over more than five years of civil war. On Tuesday it took control of most of the north-eastern Syrian town of Hassakeh, one of the few northern areas where Syrian government forces still have a hold.
Government forces are not directly involved in the battle for the border at Jarablus, having gradually lost ground in the north over more than five years of civil war.
Turkey's long-time position has been that President Bashar al-Assad must be ousted as a condition for peace in Syria.Turkey's long-time position has been that President Bashar al-Assad must be ousted as a condition for peace in Syria.
However, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim acknowledged this week that he was one of the "actors" and suggested he could play a role in an interim leadership.However, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim acknowledged this week that he was one of the "actors" and suggested he could play a role in an interim leadership.