ANKARA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- One Turkish soldier was killed during a clash between Turkey's security forces and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, the country's defense ministry said Thursday.
"A heroic comrade was martyred in the clash that broke out after the infiltration attempt made by the PKK/YPG terrorist group into the Operation Olive Branch area," the ministry tweeted.
Six YPG members were also killed after the Turkish security forces opened fire, it added, noting the operations are continuing.
Turkey sees the YPG group as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria, in order to create a YPG-free zone along its border within the neighboring country.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. Enditem
