Two Turkish soldiers killed in Kurdish shelling near Syria's Manbij

Ankara said that Kurdish artillery fire near Manbij killed the two soldiers, who were part of a Turkish and Syrian National Army contingent who have been poised to take the town.

"Following artillery fire by the terrorists from the Manbij region... one of our heroic comrades was killed and eight were injured," the ministry said.

The statement said that the Turkish army returned fire and killed at least 15 "terrorists", likely referring to fighters from the dominant militia in the Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF), the People's Protection Units (YPG). The soldier was the sixth Turkish soldier killed since Operation Peace Spring was launched on Wednesday, a military campaign aimed at clearing Kurdish militants from the Turkey-Syria border.

Tens of thousands of civilians in northern Syria have fled the fighting, as the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and regime advance into SDF territories.

Sources have told The New Arab that Turkey aims to take Manbij, but have not given the order for Syrian fighters to take the town.

American troops have reportedly left their bases in Manbij with Russian military police and Syrian regime fighters taking control of the Aleppo province town.

Syrian and Russian state media have both claimed that regime forces are now in control of the town.

Turkish border towns have also been targeted in shelling by Syria-based Kurdish militants, killing a total of 20 civilians since the operation began.

Thousands more civilians are also seeking refuge away from Turkey-Syrian frontier.

— CNW (@ConflictsW) October 15, 2019" style="color:#fff;" class="twitter-post-link" target="_blank">Twitter Post A Russian PMC inside the American base at Manbij after it was evacuated by US special Forces#Syria #Russia #Turkey pic.twitter.com/sup4taecJ3 — CNW (@ConflictsW) October 15, 2019