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ISIS flagReuters

American forces have hit Islamic State (ISIS) group targets along Syria's border with Turkey using a "newly deployed" mobile rocket system, American officials said Saturday, according to AFP.

A U.S. Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) carried out a successful strike on Friday on a tactical unit and building belonging to ISIS, Major Josh Jacques, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told the news agency.

President Barack Obama's anti-Islamic State envoy Brett McGurk said on Twitter that U.S. forces hit the jihadist targets with the "newly deployed" system.

The detachment, which allows the United States to strike a target "with a high degree of accuracy and a significantly greater range," was deployed to Turkey in support of the US-led anti-ISIS mission, Jacques said.

"HIMARS is unique in reducing the potential collateral damage as it impacts a target at a high angle, has a relatively small blast radius for the effect achieved, and functions in all weather conditions," he noted.

The U.S. embassy in Ankara posted on Twitter that it was the "latest step in U.S.-Turkey cooperation in the fight against ISIL", using an alternative acronym for ISIS.

HIMARS has been used over several years in previous operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, noted AFP.

"The weapon system is incorporated into our normal deliberate targeting cycle and has been for quite some time," Jacques said.

"Precision strikes conducted by HIMARS are similar to the (U.S.-led anti-ISIS) coalition's precision airstrikes; HIMARS is a complementary asset and involves American troops operating artillery from the soil of a NATO ally," he added.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Turkey and its rebel allies opened up a new line of attack in northern Syria as Turkish tanks crossed the frontier from Kilis province, making a western thrust in an operation to sweep opposing fighters from its border.

Turkey apparently hopes to push out ISIS forces and prevent the advance of U.S.-backed Kurds.

The private Turkish Dogan news agency reported at least 20 tanks and five armored personnel carriers crossed at the Turkish border town of Elbeyli, across from the Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai. The new incursion is unfolding about 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Jarablus, where Turkish forces first crossed into Syria 10 days ago.

AFP contributed to this report.