Turkish troops suffer deadliest losses in northern Syria

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The Turkish army said seven soldiers were killed Saturday in its offensive against Kurdish militia inside Syria, including five who died in a single attack on a tank.

The losses marked the highest toll in one day in the Turkish military operation "Olive Branch," launched last month against Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

The attack on the tank, details of which were not disclosed, was also the single deadliest attack on the military of the offensive so far.

The latest clashes brought to 14 the number of Turkish troops killed so far in the operation.

What does Turkey say happened?

The Turkish army and allied Ankara-backed Syrian rebel forces are seeking to oust the YPG, which Ankara sees as a terror group, from its western border stronghold of Afrin, but the operation so far has been marked by fierce clashes.

Smoke is seen billowing from the northern Syrian Kurdish town of Afrin on January 31, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The army said that one of the soldiers was killed in a clash and another on the border area, without giving further details.

In a later statement, it added a Turkish army tank had been hit in another attack, killing all five servicemen inside.

A previous statement said one serviceman was killed and another wounded in that attack.

In retaliation, Turkish war planes carried out air strikes on the area from where the attack was carried out, destroying shelters and munitions dumps, it added.

What do the Kurds say?

Turkey launched an air and ground offensive on Jan. 20 against Kurdish fighters who control the Afrin region. A Syrian Kurdish health official said 150 civilians had been killed and 300 wounded since the start of the operation.

On Friday, Kurdish forces in Syria said one of their fighters was mutilated by Turkey-backed rebels, referencing a video circulating on social media.

Syrian Kurds take part in a funeral for Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia fighters, killed in clashes in the Kurdish enclave in northern Syria on the border with Turkey, in the northern Syrian city of Afrin, Feb. 3, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Barin Kobane, a fighter with the Kurdish YPJ militia, was killed by Turkey-backed rebels who “played with her corpse and cut it up” as cameras rolled, the Kurdish-led administration of northeast Syria said.

"We hold the Turkish government responsible for this heinous act. We salute the soul of the free resistance (fighter),” it said.

The video has caused anger amongst the Kurdish population of northern Syria.

Erdogan tries to give reassurance

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to reassure France's Emmanuel Macron over the operation, telling the French leader it was aimed against "terror elements" and that Ankara had no eye on Syrian territory.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in New York City, Sept. 19, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Macron had incensed Turkish officials by saying in a newspaper interview last week that France would have a "real problem" with the campaign if it turned out to be an "invasion operation."

During the phone call on Saturday, "the two presidents agreed to work on a diplomatic roadmap in Syria in the coming weeks," the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the operation is going as planned, but there is no timetable for its duration and it will "continue until we clear all those areas."

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters