Istanbul, July  25

Turkey’s military today carried out a new wave of air and artillery strikes against Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria and Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, in an escalating campaign Ankara says is aimed at rooting out terror.

The two-pronged operation against IS and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) — two groups who are themselves bitterly opposed — came after a week of deadly violence in Turkey the authorities blamed on both organisations.

The PKK blasted the air raids on its northern Iraq mountain stronghold, saying a fragile ceasefire that had been in place since 2013 with Ankara “no longer has any meaning”.

After raids overnight, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkish war planes were carrying out new daytime raids against IS in Syria and PKK in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile Turkish ground forces were pounding targets belonging to both groups with artillery, he added.

“No one should doubt our determination,” he added. “We will not allow Turkey to be turned into a lawless country.”

The raids against IS, which had begun before dawn yesterday, marked a major shift in policy towards the group by key NATO member Turkey, which has faced severe criticism from its western allies for not doing enough to combat the jihadists.

But the “anti-terror” operation has now been expanded to strikes on the PKK in neighbouring Iraq, where the banned group’s military forces are based.

Davutoglu’s office said shelters and warehouses containing PKK weapons were hit in the northern Iraq operation, listing seven locations where the strikes had been carried out including Mount Kandil, where the PKK’s military leadership is based.

The air strike raised questions about the future of the fragile peace process between Turkey and the PKK, which has for decades waged a deadly insurgency in the southeast for self-rule.

The PKK’s military wing, the People’s Defence Forces (HPG), said in a statement on its website that Turkey had “unilaterally terminated” the ceasefire.

The violence in Turkey erupted after the killing of 32 people in a suicide bombing on  Monday in the Turkish town of Suruc on the Syrian border carried out by a 20-year old Turkish man linked to IS.

That attack sparked an upsurge in violence in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast, where many accuse Turkish authorities of collaborating with IS.

The PKK then outraged the government by claiming the shooting dead of two Turkish police at home while they slept.

Turkish security forces today launched new raids to arrest suspected IS and PKK members in Istanbul and other cities, adding to hundreds of detentions. A total of 590 people have so far been arrested across Turkey over links to terror groups and for posing a threat to the state, Davutoglu said.

Istanbul authorities banned a anti-jihadist “peace march” scheduled to take place in the Turkish metropolis tomorrow, citing security and traffic congestion.

Turkey has been accused of colluding with IS extremists in the hope they might further Ankara’s aim of toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Ankara has always denied the claims and has dodged playing a full role in the US-led coalition assisting Kurds fighting IS militants.

Now, however, Ankara has finally given the green light to US forces for the use of its Incirlik base for air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq, according to American and Turkish officials.