Turkish warplanes hit Islamic State, Kurdish militia sites in Syria - sources

Two Turkish F-16 warplanes struck six Islamic State targets and a position of the U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG militia in Syria on Saturday, Turkish security sources said.
  

Earlier on Saturday, A group allied to Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it was bombarded by Turkish warplanes, after Turkey's military launched an incursion this week into northern Syria against both Islamic State and Kurdish forces.
  
Turkish officials had no immediate comment on the report which, if confirmed, would signal Turkey's action against Kurdish-aligned forces was being ratcheted up a notch. 
 
The Jarablus Military Council, a group that is part of the SDF, said jets hit positions near the strategic town of Jarablus. It reported civilian casualties and called the strike "a dangerous escalation".
  
Early on Saturday, a Reuters witness in Karkamis, a Turkish town on the other side of the border from Syria's Jarablus, saw warplanes flying from Turkish air space into Syria and then heard several explosions. The identity of the planes was notclear.
 
Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes entered Jarablus this week, seizing the frontier town that had been an Islamic State stronghold. The rebel force backed by Turkey were largely Arab and Turkmen. 
 
The Turkish campaign pre-empted action by Kurdish-backed forces which had sought to get to Jarablus first.
  
But Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials has made clear that the incursion is as much about pushing away Islamic State as it is about preventing Kurdish forces filling the void left as the Islamists withdraw.
 

group PKK that is fighting an insurgency on Turkish soil.
 
        
 
 
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The Jarablus Military Council said the village of al-Amarna, which lies a few km south of Jarablus, was hit. In response to the Turkish strike, it said: "If they do not attack our forces, then we will keep the border strip secure."
 
The newly formed Jarablus Military Council has said it is made up by people from the area with the aim of capturing the town and the surrounding area from Islamic State militants. However, the Turkish-backed rebels seized Jarablus first. 
 
The Jarablus Military Council has aligned itself with the SDF, which encompasses several militias including Arabs and the Kurdish YPG group.
  
The SDF is also backed by the United States, putting Ankara at odds with its NATO ally Washington in its engagement in Syria, where the multi-faceted conflict has raged for five years, creating complex rivalries and alliances. 
 
On Thursday, a day after Turkey began its cross-border offensive, Turkish troops fired on U.S.-backed YPG forces, which is part of the SDF. Turkey's state news agency described that salvo as warning shots. The use of Turkish warplanes against an SDF-aligned group would point to tougher action.
  
A Reuters witness in Karkamis heard blasts and smoke rising from the nearby Syrian village of Kivircik.
  
Several militias under the SDF banner pledged support to Jarablus Military Council after it reported the Turkish bombing.
  
The Northern Sun Battalion, an SDF faction, said in a statement it was heading to "Jarablus fronts" to help the council against "threats made by factions belonging to Turkey".

 
Tension has mounted in the past year between the Kurdish YPG force and its allies on one hand and Turkish-backed rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad on the other, in the Aleppo region. The two sides have clashed on several occasions.