Turkey begins anti-IS campaign in Syria

Turkey has vowed to "completely cleanse" IS militants from its border region

The Turkish military has launched an operation to clear the Syrian border town of Jarablus of so-called Islamic State (IS) militants, officials say.

Turkish special forces inside Syria were supported by Turkish and US-led coalition air strikes, the government said. The operation comes as Syrian rebels prepare to launch an assault on the town from Turkish territory.

Karakamis - which borders Jarablus - has been evacuated

Turkey has vowed to "completely cleanse" IS from its border region. "The Turkish Armed Forces and the International Coalition Air Forces have launched a military operation aimed at clearing the district of Jarablus of the province of Aleppo from the terrorist organisation Daesh," said a statement from the Turkish prime minister's office, using another term for IS.


Turkey blames IS for a bomb attack that killed dozens of people in the south of the country at the weekend.

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The Turkish army began shelling Jarablus at about 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT), the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

It had earlier ordered residents in the Turkish town of Karkamis - just across the border from Jarablus - to evacuate after the town was hit by IS mortar fire.