Anadolu Agency quoted a military official as saying that the rockets were launched at two Turkish tanks operating 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Jarabulus.
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Turkey’s army and an allied Syrian rebel group called Sultan Murad were advancing toward the Syrian-Kurdish held city of Manbij on August 28 as fighting between the sides escalated in northern Syria.
A group monitoring the Syrian war says Turkish air strikes have killed at least 15 civilians on the fifth day of an incursion against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
Ankara has said that the offensive it began in Syria is as much about fighting Isis as it is about preventing Kurdish forces from making territorial gains in Syria along the Turkish border.
Addressing a rally in the southern city of Gaziantep, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to combat the militants and the US-backed Kurdish fighters “with the same determination”. It has ordered the YPG, which makes up the bulk of the US -backed Syria Democratic Forces and has been one of the most effective opponents of IS, to withdraw to the east bank of the Euphrates River, which crosses the border at Jarablus.
The tanks were hit in the area of the Syrian town of Jarabulus, which Turkish forces helped pro-Ankara rebels seize from jihadists on Wednesday, the Dogan news agency said. Rebels posted pictures from inside the village.
Kerry said late on Friday in Geneva that the United States had supported Kurdish fighters on a “limited basis” and remained in close coordination with Turkey.
But the US also backs the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which have waged successful battles against the Islamic State and also seeks to depose Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Turkish military sources said the rocket was sacked from territory held by the Kurdish YPG.
The Syrian army said it was in complete control of the town, from which roughly 8,000 civilians were due to be evacuated.
“There have been reports that SDF fighters have blown up a Turkish tank”.
A spokesman for the Turkish-backed Syrian rebels said the offensive will continue with the aim of clearing IS and Kurdish forces from northeastern Aleppo. But both Ankara and Damascus share concerns over Kurdish ambitions for autonomy.
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The Turkish military is “taking every precaution and showing maximum sensitivity to ensure that civilians living in the area are not harmed”, Anadolu reported. An activist in the neighborhood Bebars al-Talawy said at least a dozen airstrikes were launched Sunday, killing one person. Images of doctors treating other children for their burns were posted on social media sites. The district’s hospital was bombed and made non-operational earlier this month.
