They were Turkey’s first casualties since dispatching tanks and special forces units, backed by US and Turkish fighter jets, into Syria on Wednesday to oust the Islamic State militant group from the border town of Jarabulus.
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Separately, a monitoring group said at least 35 civilians and four militants were killed by a wave of Turkish strikes in the same area.
Turkish military sources told Reuters that two F-16 fighter jets bombarded a site controlled by the YPG militia, which is a significant part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Turkish army on Wednesday launched the two-pronged cross border offensive against Islamic State (IS) jihadists but also Syrian Kurdish militia detested by Ankara, sending in dozens of tanks and hundreds of troops.
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Both Turkey and Syrian rebels say the YPG has been targeting their forces.
And it said Turkey had also used heavy weapons to fire on YPG positions in the northwestern province of Afrin, about 65 miles west of Jarablus.
Turkish media named the dead soldier as Ercan Celik, 28, and said a funeral for him would be held on Sunday in Gaziantep, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now visiting.
Turkey said one of its soldiers was killed on Saturday when a rocket that it said came from a YPG-controlled area hit a tank.
On Saturday, the Syrian rebels said they have seized a number of villages south of Jarablus from IS militants and Kurdish forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 20 people were killed and 50 wounded in a battle for the village of Jub al-Kousa.
Yesterday, clashes erupted for the first time between Turkish forces backed by tanks, and pro-Kurdish fighters in the town of Al-Amarneh, also south of Jarabulus.
The operation started as an effort to push the so-called Islamic State out of the Syrian city of Jarabulus, but officials have been vocal about the twin aim to oust Kurdish militias the government views as terrorists.
Ankara’s military intervention in Syria has added another dimension to the country’s complex multi-front war, a devastating conflict that has killed more than 290,000 people and forced millions from their homes since it began in March 2011.
The Turkish leader has meanwhile warned that the operation in Syria would continue until terrorists are defeated, naming Kurdish forces as well. “Don’t kill innocent (people), fight ISIS”, one user posted.
Russia, which backs Assad’s forces, has endorsed the proposal.
The Syrian government and its Russian ally are the only ones operating helicopters over Aleppo.
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It also comes after the evacuation of Daraya, a Damascus suburb, following a deal struck with the government after a grueling bombing campaign and a tight siege.
