Istanbul: The Turkish army said on Wednesday it had opened fire on a convoy of vehicles in northern Syria belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) jihadist group. The army said the attack, carried out on Tuesday, came after two Turkish military vehicles had been fired upon at the Cobanbey border post in the south of the country.
“A pick-up, a truck and a bus in an Isil convoy were destroyed,” read the statement, published by Turkish media. There were no casualties on the Turkish side. The incident is the first pitting Turkey against the Syrian jihadist group, which has been fighting forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad as well as fellow rebel groups in the north of the country since January.
Turkey, a fierce opponent of Assad’s regime, has been accused of supplying arms to several rebel groups fighting to topple him since March 2011. Ankara has categorically denied the accusation. The Turkish army has fired into northern Syria several times in retaliation for shelling from on Turkish villages.
