ANKARA: Turkish soldiers killed four Islamic State (IS) terrorists after they came under fire from the militants along Turkey’s Syria border, local media reported.
Two cars belonging to the extremist Sunni group approached a Turkish armoured vehicle in the Oguzeli district of Gaziantep province and when ordered to halt, responded by firing shells, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Returning fire, Turkish soldiers killed four IS fighters in the first vehicle, while an unknown number in the second car fled.
The Islamic State (IS) controls swathes of Syrian territory abutting Turkey’s Syrian frontier, and there are periodic clashes. One Turkish soldier is thought to be held by the group after going missing during an exchange of fire in September.
Turkey has stepped up its fight against the militants since July, when it began launching air strikes against the group and opened its air bases to US-led coalition war planes. Since then Turkey has been hit by two suicide bomb attacks linked to IS, killing more than 130 people.
