ISTANBUL — (CNN) A cross-border gunfight erupted Thursday between suspected ISIS militants in Syria and troops in Turkey, leaving at least one Turkish soldier dead and prompting Turkey to fire artillery at other positions inside its southern neighbor, a semiofficial news agency reported.
Thursday’s incident began when 10 fighters in northern Syria approached the border in a pickup truck and fired on Turkish soldiers, Turkey’s semiofficial Anadolu news agency reported.
The militants in Syria were in an area controlled by ISIS, the Islamist terror group that has captured parts of Syria and Iraq, a Turkish official told CNN on condition of anonymity.
The fighting left one Turkish soldier and one attacker dead, Anadolu reported. At least two other Turkish soldiers were hurt, and Turkish tank fire destroyed the pickup, according to the news outlet.
Turkish forces also used artillery to fire at suspected ISIS positions near Azaz, Syria, not far from the border, according to Anadolu.
The violence comes three days after one of the deadliest terror attacks to happen in Turkey in years — a suicide bombing that killed at least 31 people in Suruc, another Turkish town that borders Syria.
Monday’s blast struck a gathering of mostly Kurdish activists calling for more help to rebuild Kobani, the Syrian city that was the scene of intense fighting last fall between ISIS and predominantly Kurdish forces.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters Tuesday that early indications pointed to involvement by ISIS in the Suruc bombing, though an investigation hadn’t been completed.
Davutoglu said the government would not hesitate in taking action in response to the bombing, which he suggested was in revenge for the role Turkey is playing in a global war on terror.
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