Turkey says soldier killed by sniper shot fired from Syria

Ankara: Turkey’s military says a sniper shot fired from across the border in Syria has killed a Turkish soldier.

The military officials said the soldier died on Wednesday while on guard duty at the military border post near the town of Reyhanli. Turkish forces retaliated to the fire, the military said in a statement.

The officials said the sniper shot was fired from a region held by US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia, which Turkey considers as an extension of outlawed Kurdish rebels that are fighting Turkey.

Turkey and the US are locked in a dispute about American plans to liberate the Daesh-group stronghold of Raqqa.

Turkey insists its own military and allied forces in Syria should mount the fight and is pressing Washington to exclude the Syrian Kurds.