PKK/YPG terror attack kills 1 Turkish soldier in Syria's Afrin

A Turkish soldier was killed in Syria's northwestern Afrin on Thursday, the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, YPG/PKK terrorists opened fire on Turkish forces.

The attack was carried out from Tal Rifaat city and Turkish military immediately retaliated.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that Turkey would be launching a military operation in a few days, targeting a border region east of the Euphrates river which is held by YPG terrorists.

"We will start the operation to clear the east of the Euphrates from separatist terrorists in a few days," Erdogan said.

Ankara and Washington have long been at odds over Syria policy, where the US has backed the YPG, Syrian wing of the PKK, which is recognised as a terrorist organisation by both Turkey and the US.  

Ankara has recently repeatedly voiced frustration about what it says are delays in the implementation of a deal with the US to clear the YPG from the town of Manbij, just west of the Euphrates.

The PKK terror group is also active in northern Iraq. It uses the Sinjar region, which connects Iraq-Syria logistical lines, to transport terrorists and weapons to Syria.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK,  listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU, has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children. The YPG is its Syrian branch.