Turkey says its forces have carried out a successful operation in northern Syria to repatriate troops guarding a Turkish enclave surrounded by Islamic State militants.
Reports say about 700 elite Turkish troops entered Syria overnight to repatriate 38 soldiers guarding the pocket of Turkish territory that contains an Ottoman-era tomb, that housed the final resting place of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the first Ottoman Sultan.
They are also reported to have repatriated the remains of Suleyman Shah.
The operation, which involved tanks, drones, reconnaissance planes, was the first such incursion by Turkish troops into Syria since the start of the civil war there nearly four years ago.
The military said no clashes took place during the operation although one soldier had been killed in an accident.
The 38 soldiers were brought safely home. The tomb they were guarding, which is on a site within Syria that Ankara considers sovereign territory, was relocated.
Normally, the detachment is rotated every six months but the last one was trapped there for eight months by Islamic State fighters.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference that Turkey had not sought permission or assistance for the mission but had informed allies in the coalition against Islamic State once it began.
"This was an extremely successful operation with no loss to our rights under international law," he said, flanked by the chief of the military and the defence minister.
A Turkish security source said the operation was conducted via the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani with the support of local Kurdish authorities. Kurdish forces, backed by U S-led air strikes, drove Islamic State from Kobani last month.
The Turkish foreign ministry said the tomb had been temporarily moved to a new site within Syria north of the village of Esmesi close to the Turkish border.
The Turkish prime minister said about 100 military vehicles, including 39 tanks, were involved along with 572 military personnel including special forces commandos. Turkish fighter jets were on alert during the mission but did not need to be deployed, he said.
There was no immediate reaction from the Syrian authorities.
The Syrian government said today that the Turkish incursion into northern Syria was an ac of "flagrant aggression" and that it would hold Ankara responsible for its repercussions.
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