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| Turkey, Anticipating Attack, Strikes 3 ISIS Targets in Syria With Jets | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| ISTANBUL — Turkish fighter jets struck three Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday in an effort to pre-empt a planned attack on Turkey, a senior Turkish government official said. | ISTANBUL — Turkish fighter jets struck three Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday in an effort to pre-empt a planned attack on Turkey, a senior Turkish government official said. |
| The airstrikes came the day after Turkey engaged in its first reported direct combat with the Islamic State militant group, and gave permission for staffed American warplanes to conduct strikes against the group from two Turkish air bases. | The airstrikes came the day after Turkey engaged in its first reported direct combat with the Islamic State militant group, and gave permission for staffed American warplanes to conduct strikes against the group from two Turkish air bases. |
| Late Friday, local television channels reported that in a separate operation Turkish jets bombed at least five camps run by Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, although Turkish officials did not confirm those reports and they could not be independently verified. | Late Friday, local television channels reported that in a separate operation Turkish jets bombed at least five camps run by Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, although Turkish officials did not confirm those reports and they could not be independently verified. |
| A member of the militant Kurdish Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K. for the initials of its Kurdish name, speaking from the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, said that the airstrikes started just after 10 p.m. and continued for three hours. | A member of the militant Kurdish Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K. for the initials of its Kurdish name, speaking from the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, said that the airstrikes started just after 10 p.m. and continued for three hours. |
| “The airstrikes also targeted villages and places where people live,” the P.K.K. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. “We don’t know the scale of the damage yet because it is still going on.” | “The airstrikes also targeted villages and places where people live,” the P.K.K. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. “We don’t know the scale of the damage yet because it is still going on.” |
| The Turkish 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 provinces, officials said. | The Turkish 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 provinces, officials said. |
| 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. | 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. |
| The group, known as the DHKP-C for the initials of its name in Turkish, has carried out sporadic attacks against police officers over the past year and was responsible for a 2013 suicide bombing at the United States Embassy in Ankara, the capital, that killed a security guard. | The group, known as the DHKP-C for the initials of its name in Turkish, has carried out sporadic attacks against police officers over the past year and was responsible for a 2013 suicide bombing at the United States Embassy in Ankara, the capital, that killed a security guard. |
| Among those arrested in the raids was Ebu Hanzala, a Salafist cleric considered to be one of the spiritual leaders of the Islamic State in Turkey. Mr. Hanzala has been arrested in counterterrorism operations, but the authorities have never had enough evidence to prosecute him. | Among those arrested in the raids was Ebu Hanzala, a Salafist cleric considered to be one of the spiritual leaders of the Islamic State in Turkey. Mr. Hanzala has been arrested 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 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. | 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 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. |
| “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 under his government’s rules. |
| The tactical shift toward directly engaging the militants in Syria came after Turkey’s Western allies pressed it to take a more active role against the Islamic State. American officials welcomed the decision on Thursday, calling it a “game changer.” | The tactical shift toward directly engaging the militants in Syria came after Turkey’s Western allies pressed it to take a more active role against the Islamic State. American officials welcomed the decision on Thursday, calling it a “game changer.” |
| Senior United States military commanders on Friday offered a more detailed assessment of the agreement to allow American staffed and unoccupied aircraft to fly strike missions from Turkey, greatly shortening the time and distance to their targets. | Senior United States military commanders on Friday offered a more detailed assessment of the agreement to allow American staffed and unoccupied aircraft to fly strike missions from Turkey, greatly shortening the time and distance to their targets. |
| “It provides additional flexibility and agility in addressing this enemy ISIL that we’re dealing with in Iraq and in Syria,” Gen. Joseph L. Votel, head of the Pentagon’s Special Operations Command, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. “It also means that Turkey has taken another step forward in being more committed to helping us.” | “It provides additional flexibility and agility in addressing this enemy ISIL that we’re dealing with in Iraq and in Syria,” Gen. Joseph L. Votel, head of the Pentagon’s Special Operations Command, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. “It also means that Turkey has taken another step forward in being more committed to helping us.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 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. | Thousands 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. |