Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a military operation launched Wednesday in northern Syria targeted Islamic State fighters and Syrian Kurds in an effort to put an end to terror threats at the border.
Turkey considers the U.S.-backed Kurds in Syria aligned with Kurds in southeastern Turkey who have waged a decades-long insurgency against the government. Wednesday's operation included artillery fire and Turkish jets conducting airstrikes backed by other warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition that has been targeting Islamic State for about two years. A number of Turkish tanks were also seen taking part in the fighting on the Syrian side of the border as they tried to push the militants out of the town of Jarablus.
Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned Turkey's actions as a violation of its sovereignty.
The operation comes a day after Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey would give "every kind" of support to fighting Islamic State in the area around Jarablus. On Monday, the government vowed to "cleanse" Islamic State following a suicide bombing in nearby Gaziantep.