Turkey has attacked Islamic State targets in Syria, joining the fight against the Islamic extremist group.

For nearly two years Turkish troops have stood by on the country’s shared border with Syria and done nothing as the terrorists increased their territory. On Friday Turkish F-16s struck ISIS targets, swiftly altering Turkey’s stance on Syria's war. The attack planes bombed three ISIS positions some 6 to 9 miles away from the Turkish border, according to the Daily Sabah.

As quoted in Time, Soner Cagaptay, the director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute, said, “ISIS and Turkey had a nearly two-year-long Cold War in which they avoided fighting, with the knowledge that their confrontation would lead to destruction on both sides.”

“That Cold War is definitely over,” he added.

According to Hakan Altinay, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, there was perhaps a good reason for Turkey’s trepidation before engaging in any military violence with the Islamic State.

“The Turkish government thinks only fighting ISIS is just dealing with the symptom and not the cause,” explained Altinay.

The air strikes were coupled with police raids across the nation, meant to detain hundreds of suspected militants.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke to U.S. President Barack Obama before the strike. As reported by Reuters he said, "In our phone call with Obama, we reiterated our determination in the struggle against the separatist organization and the Islamic State."

"We took the first step last night," he added.

Turkey has promised to keep up the attack on Islamic State. As reported in the BBC, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has described the strikes as “a process."

"It is not limited to one day or to one region,” Davutoglu said. “The slightest movement threatening Turkey will be retaliated against in the strongest way possible."

According to the prime minister, Turkey is prepared to send troops across the border and into Syria if that is what is required.

The Turkish Air Force released footage of the attack: