Three soldiers were also wounded, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said Friday, two days after the launch of the Kurdish offensive in northeastern Syria.

A Turkish soldier was killed and three soldiers were wounded in fighting against a Kurdish militia in Syria, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said Friday. "Our brother-in-law fell martyr on (Thursday) October 10 in a clash against YPG terrorists in the area of ​​the Operation Source of Peace," the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement. Three soldiers were wounded, said the ministry, without further details.

Analysis - Why the Turkish offensive in Syria worries the world

These are the first victims announced by Turkey as part of its operation "Source of Peace" launched Wednesday in northeastern Syria. This offensive targets the Kurdish militia of the YPG, supported by Westerners in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group, but which Ankara considers a "terrorist group" because of its links with a Kurdish armed group that delivers guerrilla warfare. on the Turkish soil, the PKK.

Several Turkish border towns hit by rocket fire

On Thursday, violent clashes between the Turkish military and their Syrian counterparts at the YPG. Several Turkish border cities have also been hit by salvos of rockets and shells fired by the YPG. According to Turkish local authorities, seven civilians, including a baby, were killed and about 70 injured by these projectiles in the Turkish provinces of Sanliurfa and Mardin, bordering Syria.

The Turkish offensive against the YPG opens a new front in a conflict that has claimed more than 370,000 lives and millions of refugees since 2011. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO, at least 29 combatants Kurds and 10 civilians have been killed by air strikes and artillery fire from the Turkish army since Wednesday.