On Friday, a government statement said that three F-16 fighter jets had departed from the Diyarbakir Airbase, located in Southeastern Turkey.

The statement also said that the army had used smart bombs to target three positions across the Turkish border province of Kilis, after one of its soldiers was killed in an attack from an area inside Syria.

The decision to launch the aerial attacks was made at a meeting of security officials in Ankara late Thursday chaired by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

"In this context.... an operation was carried out against targets belonging to Daesh (ISIL) inside the Syrian border," the statement said.

"Three of our F-16s hit... three targets belonging to Daesh," it said, adding that "the government of the Turkish Republic is determined to take the necessary measures to protect national security."

The targets, according to an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, were two command centers and a gathering point of ISIL supporters.

The official claimed that the Turkish jets had not violated Syria's airspace.