The Turkish military are not targeting Syrian Kurds after Kurdish forces and a monitoring group said tanks shelled Kurdish-held villages in northern Syria, a Turkish government official said today.
"The ongoing military operation seeks to neutralise imminent threats to Turkey's national security and continues to target ISIS in Syria and the PKK in Iraq," the official told AFP, referring to the Islamic State and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.
He said the Syrian Kurdish "PYD, along with others, remains outside the scope of the current military effort."
In a statement, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) said Turkish tanks hit its positions and those of allied Arab rebels in the village of Zur Maghar in Aleppo province.
The "heavy tank fire" wounded four members of the allied rebel force and several villagers, the YPG said.
It said there was a second, later round of shelling against Zur Maghar and another village in the same area.
The Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said: "We are investigating claims that the Turkish military engaged positions held by forces other than ISIS."
Turkey has launched a two-pronged "anti-terror" cross-border offensive against jihadists and the PKK militants after a wave of violence in the country, pounding their positions with air strikes and artillery.
Early today, Turkish police detained 15 people with suspected links to the Islamic State in the Hacibayram district of the capital Ankara, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
Eleven of the 15 detainees were foreigners, Anatolia said, adding that the operation was backed by around 500 police officers who raided several addresses.
The Turkish official told AFP the operations against IS and PKK were continuing, adding that a total of 900 people had been detained so far with links to the IS, PKK and other leftist organisations.
"We are fighting against all terrorist organisations," said the official.
US and Turkey agree to forge 'IS-free zone' in Syria
Meanwhile, a senior US official has said the US and Turkey have agreed to work together to clear the so-called Islamic State group from northern Syria.
"The goal is to establish an ISIL-free zone and ensure greater security and stability along Turkey's border with Syria," the official told AFP, using an acronym for the jihadist group.
The pledge comes after a week of deadly violence in Turkey that the authorities blamed on both Kurdish PKK separatists and IS.
The violence included a suicide attack that killed 32 people and car bomb that killed two Turkish soldiers.
Ankara responded with a wave of attacks on IS targets in Syria and Kurdish targets in Iraq.
The US official, who asked not to be named, was speaking during a visit to Ethiopia by US President Barack Obama.
The US official said that details of the zone "remain to be worked out," but that "any joint military efforts will not include the imposition of a no-fly zone" -- a long standing Turkish demand.
It would however entail Turkey supporting US "partners on the ground" who are fighting against IS.
But many are questioning whether Turkey is more interested in limiting Kurdish capabilities in Syria and Iraq than tackling IS.
Kurds living in belt that spans Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran have long advocated independence, something Ankara has roundly rejected.
Publicly, the US has given tacit backing to Turkey's actions, saying Ankara "has a right to take action related to terrorist targets."
But there is concern that sustained attacks could cause a rift with Kurdish regional authorities in Iraq, who are a key partner in fighting IS inside that country.
