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Turkey says warplanes strike IS targets across the border in Syria

The raids came after 32 people were killed in a suicide bombing on Monday in a Turkish town on the Syrian border, blamed on IS.

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Turkey initially responded to the clash by firing artillery into Syria.

The country, which shares a 900 kilometre border with Syria, has up until recently refused to allow the United States to use the airbase at Incirlik outside Adana in the south.

As it battles Islamic State threats, Turkey is also facing new violence from the PKK, which claimed responsibility for killing two Turkish police officers this week in separate attacks.

Turkey and the U.S. would take “concrete steps” in the upcoming days in line with the agreement, Davutoglu said.

Clashes continued late on Thursday, with the Turkish army heavily targeting ISIL targets in Syria. “This was a decision made on the basis of Turkish national security”, he said.

In this Thursday, July 23, 2015 photo, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet…

Turkey’s leaders had on Friday confirmed that a deal had been reached, and said it would enable the US to use the key Turkish Incirlik Air Base, which is located near Syria.

One official said the raid has been launched from Turkish airspace.

“This was not a point operation, this is a process”, Davutoglu said. However, he played down talk of Turkey going to war in Syria, where the forces of President Bashar al-Assad have been battling opposition groups since 2011.

“Many people in Turkey mistrust AKP [the ruling party] motives in bombing IS [Isis] targets and do not believe they are honest in their clampdown on jihadists within Turkey”.

Ege Seckin, an analyst with IHS Country Risk, said the change in Turkey’s approach was significant.

Without giving a precise date, Hurriyet said the Incirlik base would be opened for the US forces to use in raids on Syria “very soon”.

Turkey has been the entry point into Syria for hundreds of foreigners travelling to fight with Islamic State but has so far not taken part in the US-led campaign of air strikes.

The bombing in Syria is not the only sign that Turkey is changing its tune on IS.

Turkey has been in the coalition since from the beginning but was not fully cooperating due to its differing views over the Syrian crisis. Suspected Islamic State militants fired at a Turkish military outpost from a region under IS control, inside Syrian territory Thursday, killing a Turkish soldier and wounding two others, an official said.

Suruc is home to many refugees who have fled fierce fighting between IS and Kurdish fighters in nearby Kobane.

Dr Natalie Martin, a lecturer in politics and worldwide relations at Nottingham Trent University, told The Independent that the situation in Turkey is “increasingly unpredictable following the bombing at Suruc“. Thirty seven of those arrested were foreigners. “A lot of weapons and ammunition were seized”, he said.

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Members of the youth wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and of a far-left group were also arrested.

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