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Turkey Shells Islamic State Positions in Syria
[An Nahar] Turkish armed forces shelled positions of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 (IS) group in Syria in coordination with the U.S.-led international anti-jihadist coalition, local media reported on Monday.

Turkish artillery fired 50 to 60 shells from howitzers positioned in its southern Kilis region against IS targets in the north of Syria's Aleppo province, the private Dogan news agency reported.

A fragile ceasefire has taken effect in Syria, but jihadists are excluded from it.

It was the first attack in several weeks since The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, a member of the international coalition against the IS group, stuck jihadist positions in Syria.

Turkish artillery have fired on IS targets in Syria and in Iraq after a deadly suicide kaboom in Istanbul's tourist hub of Sultanahmet in January.

The ceasefire deal in Syria, brokered by Russia and the United States, has been in place since Friday midnight. U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon said there been some incidents but the ceasefire was generally holding.

The deal does not apply to territory held by the IS group and al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
 Front.

Turkish artillery has fired Kurdish militia forces this month, saying it was responding to incoming fire.

Ankara said the Syria truce should have excluded the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, which it considers to be a terror group linked to its own Kurdish bad boys.

However the United States works closely with the YPG as the best fighting force on the ground in northern Syria the battle against IS.

The issue has caused major tensions between the two NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
 allies, with Washington wanting Ankara to focus on the fight against IS jihadists rather than the Kurdish fighters.

Posted by: Fred 2016-03-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=447349