Turkey hits five terrorist targets in northern Syria

ANKARA

Turkish forces shelled five terrorist targets in northern Syria as part of Operation Euphrates Shield, the military said on Wednesday.

The Turkish General Staff said five targets, including one armed vehicle and two buildings reportedly used by Daesh as military quarters, were destroyed between 2.08 p.m. and 2:33 p.m. local time (1108 – 1133GMT).

The army added that it used “Firtina” (storm) howitzers 10 times to hit four targets on the fifteenth day of Turkey’s operation in Syria.

Operation Euphrates Shield, which was launched on Aug. 24, aims at improving security, supporting coalition forces and eliminating the terror threat along Turkey’s border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish armor, artillery and jets.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

Separately, the military also shelled terrorist targets in Turkey’s southeastern rural area of Cukurca, the army said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the army said the Turkish Air Forces conducted the operation between 5.20 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. local time (1420 – 1430GMT).

One “dynamic target” was destroyed, the army said.

Tension is high in southeastern Turkey since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year.

Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists killed.

*Reporting by Zafer Cakmak and Ilkay Guder; Writing by Handan Kazanci