Seven Turkish soldiers were killed on Saturday in Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militia inside Syria, including five who died in a single attack on a tank, the army said.
The losses marked the highest toll in one day for the Turkish military in Operation Olive Branch, launched on 20 January against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units(YPG) militia, seen by Ankara as a terrorist group.
The assault on the tank, details of which were not disclosed, was also the single deadliest attack on the Turkish military of the offensive so far.
The Turkish army and allied Ankara-backed Syrian rebel forces are seeking to oust the YPG from its western border stronghold of Afrin. The operation so far has been marked by fierce clashes.
In retaliation for the latest attacks on Turkish forces, war planes carried out airstrikes on the area, destroying shelters and munitions dumps, the army said.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on Thursday the Turkish army and Ankara-backed rebels had recorded 25 deaths between them.
Meanwhile, seven civilians have been killed in mortar fire on the Turkish side of the border, with Ankara blaming the YPG.
Ankara says major progress has been made in the 15-day operation, with almost 900 YPG fighters killed so far, although it is not possible to verify these figures.
Erdogan said in a speech on Saturday that the Turkish forces were beginning to take mountain positions and would now head towards Afrin itself. “There is not much to go,” he said.
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, “the two presidents agreed to work on a diplomatic roadmap in Syria in the coming weeks”, the Élysée Palace said.
> Shiuly Akter
