Turkey’s military killed at least 28 ISIS fighters in shelling north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday in retaliation for the latest attacks against a Turkish border town, broadcaster CNN Turk said, citing a military statement.
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The advance – the biggest by IS in Aleppo province in two years – is part of an IS offensive targeting rebel strongholds near the Turkish border which began on Thursday night.
The nearby city of Kilis, just a handful of kilometres from the Syrian border, has been struck several times this year by rockets which Ankara says were fired by Islamic State fighters. A few hundred fled west to the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin.
People are “terrified for their lives”, the International Rescue Committee said in a statement. The group reportedly used at least two vehicle bombs in the assault.
Ahmed Khatib, an official at IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, said on Saturday that al-Hilal camp is full, while half of the refugees at the Sijju camp have left it. The IRC also relocated its staff from the centers and camp to shelter to safer areas of Azaz until the situation enables them to return.
The UN warned Saturday that civilians have been caught in the crossfire during intense fighting in the town.
The advance also brought them closer to Azaz, a town 6 km (4 miles) from the Turkish border.
A route known as the Azaz corridor links rebel-held eastern Aleppo with Turkey.
Nusra Front and Islamic State are rivals in the Syrian conflict and have been fighting each other, including near Damascus, in separate battles from those between insurgents and government forces.
It comes as the Kurdish-led Democratic Forces of Syria, backed by U.S. special forces and airstrikes, mount an offensive further east on the hinterland of Islamic State’s de facto Syrian capital of al-Raqqa. For the protection of AP and its licensors, content may not be copied, altered or redistributed in any form.
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Turkish authorities blame the attacks on IS, which has a presence in northern Syria.
