Turkish Artillery Attack ISIS Targets in Iraq, Syria

Davutoglu Says Nearly 200 Killed in 48 Hours

According to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish artillery forces have been attacking ISIS targets across both Iraq and Syria since the recent Istanbul bombing, hitting over 500 targets in the past 48 hours and killing “nearly 200” extremists.

It’s impossible to confirm that large death toll, but these are among the first strikes by Turkish forces against ISIS in months, as after declaring the start of an anti-ISIS operation they shifted their focus almost entirely toward attacking the Kurds.

Turkish officials were quick to blame ISIS for the Istanbul bombing, claiming the attacker was Syrian-born and was believed to be an ISIS affiliate. The attack killed 10 people, all foreign tourists, including nine Germans and a Peruvian.

Turkey’s ongoing wars with ISIS and the Kurds seem to be running up against each other in great measure, with Turkey blasting the US for aiding the Kurds against ISIS in Syria, and warning against allowing them to take key border towns away from ISIS.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.