Turkey kills 200 IS militants in Syria, Iraq

The Turkish military targeted IS positions in Syria and Iraq after the government identified the suicide bomber of Istanbul attack as an IS member.

Ankara: Turkey has hit Islamic State (IS) targets across its southeastern border and killed 200 IS militants with 48 hours after the Istanbul bombing on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday.

The Turkish military operations targeted IS positions in Syria and Iraq, Davutoglu told a conference of the Turkish ambassadors in Ankara, Xinhua reported.

The move came after Turkish government identified the suicide bomber of Istanbul attack as an IS member, he added.

Ten German tourists were killed and 17 others injured in the Sultanahmet Square attack on Tuesday.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters on Tuesday that the bomber, who was of Syrian origin and born in 1988, recently entered Turkey from Syria.

Turkey has suffered from a series of deadly attacks. In July 2015, a bombing attack in the border town of Suruc in southeastern Turkey killed 34 pro-Kurdish and left-wing activists. Last October, twin suicide bombings hit the capital city Ankara, claiming a total of 103 lives. Both were blamed on the IS militant group.