This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/25/world/europe/turkey-isis-syria-airstrikes.html

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Airstrikes by Turkey Hit 3 ISIS Targets in Syria Airstrikes by Turkey Hit 3 ISIS Targets in Syria
(about 2 hours later)
ISTANBUL — Turkish fighter jets struck three Islamic State targets inside Syria on Friday in a pre-emptive measure based on intelligence about a planned attack on Turkey, a senior government official said. ISTANBUL — Turkish fighter jets struck three Islamic State targets inside Syria on Friday in an effort to pre-empt a planned attack on Turkey, a senior Turkish government official said.
The airstrikes came a day after Turkey engaged in its first direct combat with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, on the Syrian border and gave permission for American warplanes to use two air bases in the fight against the group in Syria. The airstrikes came the day after Turkey engaged in its first reported direct combat with the Islamic State militant group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and gave permission for manned American warplanes to conduct strikes against the group from two Turkish air bases.
As well as the airstrikes, Turkey carried out simultaneous raids across 13 provinces on Friday, resulting in the arrests of 297 people, including 37 foreigners, suspected of having ties to terrorist organizations. The government also announced on Friday that it had arrested 297 people, including 37 foreigners, who were suspected of having ties to terrorist organizations. The arrests were made in simultaneous raids in 13 different provinces, officials said.
During the raids, a member of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front, known by its Turkish initials DHKP-C, was killed after the police tried to enter a house in the Bagcilar district of Istanbul. The member’s identity has not yet been released. During one of the raids, on a house in the Bagcilar district of Istanbul, a member of an outlawed leftist group called the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front was killed, the police said. The member’s identity was not released.
Ebu Hanzala, a Salafist cleric who is considered to be one of the spiritual leaders of the Islamic State in Turkey, was among those arrested in the raids. Among those arrested in the raids was Ebu Hanzala, a Salafist cleric who is considered to be one of the spiritual leaders of the Islamic State in Turkey. Mr. Hanzala has been arrested several times before in counterterrorism operations, but the authorities have never had enough evidence to prosecute him.
Mr. Hanzala, who in the past was suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda, has been arrested several times in counterterrorism operations, but the authorities have never had enough evidence to prosecute him. The airstrikes on Friday were the first by Turkish warplanes against Islamic State targets inside Syria. The office of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that three F-16 jets bombed what it said were two command centers and a rendezvous point across the border from Kilis in southern Turkey, and that the planes did so without entering Syrian airspace themselves.
Three F-16 jets bombed two command centers and a meeting point for Islamic State fighters across the border from Kilis, in southern Turkey, without entering Syrian airspace, according to the prime minister’s office. “We received intelligence about stockpiles of weapons and a gathering of Islamic State militants very close to our border,” the senior government official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under his government’s rules.
“We received intelligence about stockpiles of weapons and a gathering of Islamic State militants very close to our border,” the senior government official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, in line with protocol. “The operation was carried out, not as an offense, but as a defense.” The tactical shift toward directly engaging the militants in Syria came after Turkey’s Western allies pressed it for months to take a more active role against the Islamic State. American officials welcomed the decision on Thursday, calling it a “game changer.”
It is the first time that Turkish warplanes have bombed Islamic State targets inside Syria. Hours earlier, the combat on the Syrian border with Islamic State militants left one Turkish military officer dead. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey described the airstrikes as “a first step” against Islamist, Kurdish and leftist militants. He called on terrorist groups to lay down their arms and said they would “face consequences” if they failed to do so.
“We cannot stand by as Kurdish, leftist and Islamic State militants target Turkey,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Ankara on Friday. Violence in Turkey this week has raised tensions with the country’s restive Kurdish population. On Monday, a suicide bomber suspected of having ties to the Islamic State struck a cultural center in the Turkish border town of Suruc, killing 32 people and wounding 100 others. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets afterward to accuse the government of tacitly cooperating with the Islamic State in the Suruc bombing. The military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, whose 30-year insurgency ended only recently in a fragile peace, retaliated for the bombing by killing two police officers on Wednesday.
After months of pressure from its Western allies to pursue a more active role against the Islamic State, Turkey on Thursday made a major tactical shift by granting permission for American warplanes to use two Turkish air bases. The move was described as a “game changer” by United States officials.
The moves came at a time of heightened violence and tension along the 500-mile border between Turkey and Syria. On Monday, a suicide bomber suspected of having ties to the Islamic State struck a cultural center in the Turkish border town of Suruc, killing 32 people and wounding 100 others.
Turkish fighter jets retreated from the border early Friday, according to the Turkish authorities, who said that more airstrikes would be possible once the level of risk had been assessed.