Turkey Kurdish Rebels

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey would attack militants with tanks and soldiers as soon as possible after retaliatory strikes escalated along the Syrian border.

Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies attacked Kurdish militia in northeast Syria on Wednesday, pounding them with air strikes and artillery before starting a cross-border ground operation that could transform an eight-year-old war.

Turkey's military and its rebel allies have encircled the northern Syrian town of Afrin, the Turkish armed forces said on Tuesday, a substantial advance in Turkey's offensive against Kurdish fighters across its southern border.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels in the mountainous Daglica area of Hakkari province, which borders Iraq, detonated explosives on a road as a military vehicle passed, killing two soldiers and wounding a third, security sources said.

More than 100 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants were either killed or wounded in clashes with Turkish security forces today, the military said.

Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria have reached a "loose agreement" to stop fighting each other, a US defense official said today.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter called on Turkey to stay focused on fighting ISIS and not to target Kurdish elements of Syrian rebels.

A group monitoring the Syrian war said Turkish air strikes and artillery attacks killed at least 20 civilians and wounded dozens more today, the fifth day of Turkey's cross-border campaign that it says targets Islamic State and Kurdish forces.

Turkish warplanes and artillery struck targets held by the Kurdish YPG militia in north Syria today, security sources said, as Turkey pressed on with a cross-border campaign launched last week with its Syrian rebel allies.

Rebels supported by Turkey fought Kurdish-backed forces in northern Syria on Saturday, as Ankara ratcheted up its cross-border offensive by saying it had launched air strikes against both Kurdish forces and Islamic State.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) today claimed a deadly suicide bomb attack on Turkish police in the southeastern town of Cizre that left 11 officers dead and wounded dozens more.

Eleven Turkish police officers were killed and 78 people injured today in a suicide truck bombing by suspected Kurdish rebels.

Syrian rebels backed by Turkey have taken control of the Syrian town of Jarablus from ISIS terrorists to prevent Kurdish forces from seizing a new swathe of territory on Turkey's southern border, Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said.

Turkey's state-run news agency says Kurdish rebels have attacked a bomb disposal team in southeast Turkey, killing two Turkish soldiers.

Turkey's artillery shelled ISIS group targets across the border in Syria for the second consecutive day today, a senior Turkish official said, amid reports that Turkey-backed Syrian rebels are preparing an offensive against an ISIS-held border town in northern Syria.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey would attack militants with tanks and soldiers as soon as possible after retaliatory strikes escalated along the Syrian border.

Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies attacked Kurdish militia in northeast Syria on Wednesday, pounding them with air strikes and artillery before starting a cross-border ground operation that could transform an eight-year-old war.

Turkey's military and its rebel allies have encircled the northern Syrian town of Afrin, the Turkish armed forces said on Tuesday, a substantial advance in Turkey's offensive against Kurdish fighters across its southern border.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels in the mountainous Daglica area of Hakkari province, which borders Iraq, detonated explosives on a road as a military vehicle passed, killing two soldiers and wounding a third, security sources said.

More than 100 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants were either killed or wounded in clashes with Turkish security forces today, the military said.

Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria have reached a "loose agreement" to stop fighting each other, a US defense official said today.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter called on Turkey to stay focused on fighting ISIS and not to target Kurdish elements of Syrian rebels.

A group monitoring the Syrian war said Turkish air strikes and artillery attacks killed at least 20 civilians and wounded dozens more today, the fifth day of Turkey's cross-border campaign that it says targets Islamic State and Kurdish forces.

Turkish warplanes and artillery struck targets held by the Kurdish YPG militia in north Syria today, security sources said, as Turkey pressed on with a cross-border campaign launched last week with its Syrian rebel allies.

Rebels supported by Turkey fought Kurdish-backed forces in northern Syria on Saturday, as Ankara ratcheted up its cross-border offensive by saying it had launched air strikes against both Kurdish forces and Islamic State.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) today claimed a deadly suicide bomb attack on Turkish police in the southeastern town of Cizre that left 11 officers dead and wounded dozens more.

Eleven Turkish police officers were killed and 78 people injured today in a suicide truck bombing by suspected Kurdish rebels.

Syrian rebels backed by Turkey have taken control of the Syrian town of Jarablus from ISIS terrorists to prevent Kurdish forces from seizing a new swathe of territory on Turkey's southern border, Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said.

Turkey's state-run news agency says Kurdish rebels have attacked a bomb disposal team in southeast Turkey, killing two Turkish soldiers.

Turkey's artillery shelled ISIS group targets across the border in Syria for the second consecutive day today, a senior Turkish official said, amid reports that Turkey-backed Syrian rebels are preparing an offensive against an ISIS-held border town in northern Syria.