Turkey continues to hit ISIL in Syria, strikes PKK militants in north Iraq

The Turkish military on July 25 carried out fresh airstrikes and shelling against targets controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists in Syria and embarked on a new air campaign to bombard camps of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq.
  
The two-pronged operation against ISIL and the PKK -- two groups who are themselves bitterly opposed -- came after a week of deadly violence in Turkey the authorities blamed on the organisations.

The Turkish F-16 jets all returned safely to their base in the southeastern city of Diyarbak?r early July 25 after the latest raids, the official Anatolia news agency reported.

Private broadcaster NTV reported that five warplanes took off from Diyarbak?r later in the day, after Turkish artillery in the Kilis province launched a fresh bombing campaign targeting the ISIL positions in northern Syria on July 25.

The raids against ISIL, which had begun before dawn July 24, marked a major shift in policy towards the group by key NATO member Turkey, which has faced severe criticism from its Western allies for not doing enough to combat the jihadists.
  
But on this occasion planes also bombed positions of the PKK in neighbouring Iraq, where the outlawed group's military forces are based.
  
"Strikes were carried out on targets of the Daesh (ISIL) terror group in Syria and the PKK terror group in northern Iraq," the office of Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said in a statement.
  
It said shelters and warehouses containing PKK weapons were hit in the northern Iraq operation, listing seven locations where the strikes had been carried out including Mount Kandil, where the PKK's military leadership is based.
  
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