Araz News:  On Friday 24 of July, Turkish warplanes for the first time bombed the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) inside Syria , reportedly killing 35 militants, only hours after ISIL attacked an area of the Syrian border, killing one Turkish officer,Today Zaman reported.

Turkey has long been faced with strong criticism for its reluctance to contribute to the US-led coalition to combat ISIL, as well as for allegedly turning a blind eye to foreign fighters crossing into Syria through Turkey to join the group. Friday’s bombing of the Syrian border village of Hawar al-Nahr signals a major shift in Turkish policy toward ISIL.

Acting Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Friday that the bombing had removed “potential threats” that target Turkey, and stated that the Turkish warplanes hit all its targets with “100 percent accuracy.” Davutoğlu emphasized that Turkey is determined to eliminate all terrorist threats against the country, signaling that more operations are on the way with the words, “This was not a point operation, but a process.” He continued that the operation is not limited to one day or to one region, and that Turkey will not hesitate to retaliate against “the slightest threatening movement.”

He maintained that Turkish planes did not violate Syrian airspace, but he did not rule out incursions in the future. Davutoğlu also denied news reports claiming that Turkey had informed the Syrian Bashar al-Assad regime of the bombing in advance, but said that Turkish officials had contacted NATO allies before the strikes.

Three F-16 warplanes hit two ISIL bases and one assembly point before returning, the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Friday. The warplanes took off from a base inDiyarbakır, according to the statement.

Turkish officials have stated that the raid was launched from Turkish airspace and that warplanes did not cross the Syrian border during the operation. The targets were across the border from the Turkish town of Kilis.

The privately owned Doğan news agency has reported that during the operation, 35 ISIL militants were killed, and that three tanks and small trucks belonging to ISIL were rendered useless by the attack. The agency did not cite a source for the report and there has been no official confirmation.

According to the privately owned NTV television news outlet, Turkey targeted a high-level ISIL commander with the air strikes. There has been no official confirmation of this either. As a policy, ISIL does not disclose its losses.