Turkey, coalition pound IS positions

Associated Press

ISTANBUL

The Turkish military said Monday that artillery shelling and drone attacks by the U.S.-led coalition have struck Islamic State positions in Syria and killed a total of 63 militants.

The state-owned Anadolu Agency said the strikes took out multiple rocket launchers and gun positions.

Four drones deployed from the Incirlik air base, a launching point for U.S.-led coalition forces in southern Turkey, took part in the operation and killed 29 militants.

The airstrikes were informed by intelligence gathered by the Turkish army, the private Dogan news agency reported.

The remaining 34 IS fighters were “neutralized” by rocket fire and artillery shelling from Turkey, according to Anadolu Agency.

The Associated Press was unable to immediately verify the reported casualties.

The offensive started Sunday when four rockets fired from Syria hit the Turkish border town of Kilis and wounded eight people. On Monday, one person was killed and two others were wounded from two more rocket projectiles that struck the town, Anadolu reported.

Kilis has been hammered by cross-fire border fire since mid-January and the death raised the number of fatalities from rocket fire to 20.

The wider province of Kilis borders territory contested by IS militants, anti-government Syrian rebels and Kurdish factions.

The Turkish army typically responds to fire from Syria in line with its rules of engagement.

In the past year, Turkey also has witnessed suicide bombings linked to IS as well as attacks linked to Kurdish militants.