Prime Minister Binali Yildrim said that “operations will continue until all threats to Turkish citizens have been eliminated”.
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The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has blamed the US -led coalition for failing to provide air support in time to them and the Turkish armed forces during an attack in northern Syria’s western Jarabulus late Tuesday.
On Monday, Turkish-backed Syrian rebels said they were advancing towards Manbij, a city on the West Bank of the Euphrates, captured earlier this month by Kurdish forces.
In an unprecedented operation, Turkey has been deploying tanks and troops in Syria to clear the border area of Islamic State (IS) jihadists and halt the westward advance of a US-backed Kurdish militia, which Ankara sees as a terrorist group.
On Tuesday, the Kurdish-backed Jarablus Military Council said in a statement that it had agreed to a cease-fire with the Turkish military in a disputed area in northern Syria after lengthy consultations with the coalition.
Ibrahim Kalin said it was unacceptable that European Union countries had not sent high-level representatives to Turkey after the coup attempt, which the presidency says was planned by supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a powerful US-based Muslim cleric.
Later in the day, Turkish jets struck four buildings in Kuliyeh and nearby Zaghrah, killing some militants, Turkish military officials said.
But Turkish military sources denied there was any such agreement, while a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel commander characterised it only as a “pause” and said that military operations would soon resume.
Turkey considers the Kurdish militias to be terrorist groups.
Ankara contacted the U.S. ambassador on Wednesday over comments the foreign ministry called “unacceptable”.
Celik added: “PYD’s activities in northern Syria benefit terror groups, not Kurdish people”.
A spokesman for the Turkish foreign ministry, however, told AFP that there was only a “phone call” to the ambassador, John Bass.
While Ankara and Washington are allies, the U.S. depends on Kurdish forces for support in attacking IS in northern Syria.
Turkey s offensive has also raised concerns that Ankara could be drawn even deeper into the Syrian conflict.
Meanwhile, the Turkish army, which lost a soldier last week to anti-tank fire, suffered further casualties.
On Tuesday, Turkish troops and their rebel allies came under attack in IS-held territory to the west of Jarabulus, with the jihadists claiming to have destroyed two Turkish tanks in a missile attack.
Polat Can, the YPG representative to the global anti-ISIL coalition, also said the forces had reached a truce with Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.
“The PYD, as the Syrian extension of the PKK, is a terror organization”, Kalin said.
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Karkamis lies just across the border from the northern Syrian town of Jarablus, which was swiftly captured from Islamic State by Turkish-backed forces when they launched the offensive dubbed “Euphrates Shield” on August 24.
