Turkish, US air strikes kill more than 50 ISIL militants in Syria: Agency

ISTANBUL - Reuters

DHA Photo

Air strikes by Turkish and U.S. aircraft in Syria on Oct. 31 killed more than 50 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants and wounded around 30, state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) quoted security sources as saying on Nov. 1. 

A senior government official told Reuters on Oct. 31 that Turkish jets had bombed ISIL targets in Syria, as before Turks prepared to vote in the Nov. 1 parliamentary election. 

Six Turkish F-16 jets which took off from the Incirlik base in southern Turkey had been involved in the air strikes between 0900-1400 GMT on Oct. 31, as well as a drone belonging to the coalition, AA said. 

It said the operation destroyed eight ISIL targets around 5 km inside the Syrian border near the Turkish province of Kilis. The operation was backed up by Turkmen forces on the ground in Syria, it added. 

Turkey vowed to take a more active role in combating ISIL in July, as part of a multi-pronged offensive which also saw them ramp up attacks on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Since then, the Turkish military has primarily concentrated on hitting its old foe although Turkish airbases have also been used by U.S.-led coalition jets to hit ISIL targets in northern Syria.