Turkey’s military says it has suffered its single deadliest day in its offensive against Syrian militias in northern Syria.
Seven soldiers were killed Saturday.
Five were killed in the Afrin region when their tank came under attack.
Two soldiers were killed earlier in the day, one near the tank attack, the other along Turkey’s border with Syria.
In retaliation Turkey said its jets later struck Kurdish targets in the area from which the attack on the tank came.
Turkey’s “Olive Branch” operation was launched late last month against the YPG, Kurdish forces in Syria, a militia seen by Ankara as a terrorist group linked to Kurdish separatists in Turkey. Turkey has lost a total of 14 soldiers in its operation.
Ibrahim Kalin, a Turkish presidential spokesman, said Saturday that Turkey will not tolerate the presence of the YPG anywhere along it border with Syria.