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Turkish Military Kills 63 IS Fighters in Syria


FILE - Turkish artillery fire from the border toward northern Syria, in Kilis, Turkey, Feb. 16, 2016.
FILE - Turkish artillery fire from the border toward northern Syria, in Kilis, Turkey, Feb. 16, 2016.

The Turkish military killed 63 Islamic State soldiers in Syria Sunday after launching artillery and drone strikes from the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, the Turkish military said in a statement.

State-run media in Turkey reported the strikes took out several rocket-launcher and gun positions. According to the report, Turkish artillery killed 34 IS extremists, while drone strikes killed another 29.

The Turkish shelling took place after rockets were fired from Syria at the Turkish city of Kilis along the northern Syrian border Sunday. The rocket attack wounded eight people.

In a separate incident Sunday, a car bomb was detonated in front of a police station in Gaziantep, another Turkish city near the Syrian border. Two policemen were killed and 22 others were wounded in that attack.

Security officers and firefighters work moments after an explosion outside the Police headquarters in Gaziantep, Turkey, May 1, 2016.
Security officers and firefighters work moments after an explosion outside the Police headquarters in Gaziantep, Turkey, May 1, 2016.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the police station attack, though jihadists are believed to have carried out two similar attacks in Istanbul earlier this year.

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