Turkey launches artillery strikes on IS, Kurdish PYD in north Syria: TV

Turkish army howitzers stationed inside Turkey fired on IS targets in the town of Jarablus and PYD targets around the area of Manbij, the CNN-Turk and NTV channels reported.

Turkey was deploying tanks and heavy weaponry on the border for the strikes, the reports added.

The reports came after as activists said hundreds of Ankara-backed rebels were preparing an offensive against the IS group in Syria.

This offensive coincides with a similar move by Syrian Kurdish militia, potentially putting them on a collision course in the fight for IS-held Jarablus.