Eight militants of the Islamic State (IS) were killed in Syria on Monday when Turkish artillery units shelled a missile launcher, said a Turkish military statement.

The Turkish artillery units destroyed a missile launcher belonging to the IS group in a region north of Aleppo, six kilometers from the border and 21 kilometers from the center of the province of Kilis in southeastern Turkey, said the statement issued by the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The Turkish military responded to the IS group that has fired 45 rockets hitting the province of Kilis and killing at least 16 people since Jan. 18 of this year.

Meanwhile, eight suspected IS members were apprehended on Monday in the Oguzeli town of the southeastern province of Gaziantep, a statement released by Gaziantep governor's office said, following the second IS attempt to infiltrate the town in the last week.

The Turkish security forces at the border detained the eight foreign IS suspects while they were trying to enter the country from Syria.

Turkey has recently been on high alert as the country has been rocked by a series of suicide and car bomb attacks which claimed many lives and wounded hundreds.

Source: XINHUA