The casualties, which the ministry said occurred during clashes with the YPG, took place in the area where Turkey carried out its Olive Branch Operation last year, when the Turkish army wrested the Afrin region from the hands of Syrian Kurdish forces.

Turkey says the US-backed YPG group is indistinguishable from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.

Reporter’s code: 50101