The Turkish tanks had been
firing on Islamic State targets across the border in the Syrian town of
Jarabulus since early Wednesday in the operation, named Euphrates Shield.
Other media have said that
as many as 20 tanks had crossed into Syria, with between six and a dozen
spotted by journalists from AFP and Reuters news agencies.
The numbers have not been
confirmed by government officials but witnesses reported clashes at the border
and intense bombardments inside Syria.
Hurriyet and Haber Turk
television said efforts were underway to open a "passage" into the
region as they head towards Jarabulus.
Turkish fighter jets -
supported by US-led coalition aircraft - also struck Islamic State targets near
the border town.
Mortar rounds were fired in
retaliation from the IS-held Jarabulus, hitting the Turkish border town of
Karkamis, which has been evacuated along with six other towns along the border.
Turkey's President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the operation was to target Islamic State and the
Kurdish PYD in Syria, adding that Turkey wanted to put an end to "frequent
attacks".
Speaking in Ankara, he said
that Turkey was seeking to "remove the shadow cast on the religion of
Islam by Islamic State".
He added: "Nobody can
see the Syrian issue independent from Turkey's internal affairs.
"The road to solving
the terror problem passes through a solution to problems in Syria and in
Iraq...Turkey will overcome threats originating from Syria."
Interior Minister Efkan Ala
said Turkey "cannot sit and watch", adding that it was Turkey's
"legal right, it is within its authority" to act.
Mr Ala said the operation
would continue "until this threat is removed and the terror threat on our
border disappears".
Turkish counter-terrorism
police also raided several homes in Istanbul, targeting Islamic State members
in the early hours of Wednesday.
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