Four Islamic State fighters shot dead by Turkish soldiers - media | Reuters

ANKARA Turkish soldiers killed four Islamic State fighters on Saturday after they came under fire from the militants along Turkey’s Syria border, local media reported.

Two cars belonging to the extremist Sunni group approached a Turkish armoured vehicle in the Oguzeli district of Gaziantep province and when ordered to halt, responded by firing shells, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Returning fire, Turkish soldiers killed four IS fighters in the first vehicle, while an unknown number in the second car fled.

Islamic State (IS) controls swathes of Syrian territory abutting Turkey’s Syrian frontier, and there are periodic clashes. One Turkish soldier is thought to be held by the group after going missing during an exchange of fire in September.

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The group on Saturday claimed responsibility for a series of bomb and gun attacks in Paris which left at least 127 people dead.

Turkey has stepped up its fight against the militants since July, when it began launching air strikes against the group and opened its air bases to U.S.-led coalition war planes.

Since then Turkey has been hit by two suicide bomb attacks linked to IS, killing more than 130 people.

(Reporting by Jonny Hogg; editing by Susan Thomas)

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