The Turkish army was on Tuesday engaged in intense clashes with Kurdish militia inside Syria as the US voiced alarm Ankara's operation could endanger attempts to bring peace to the conflict-torn country.


President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed at the funeral of the first Turkish soldier to be killed in the cross-border campaign that Ankara would emerge victorious from the campaign.


Turkey on Saturday launched operation ""Olive Branch"" aimed at rooting out the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia Dana Barros 76ers Jersey , which Ankara sees as a terror group, from its Afrin enclave in northern Syria.


The campaign has caused ripples of concern among Turkey's NATO allies, especially the US which is still working closely with the YPG to defeat Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria and fears the offensive will be a distraction.


In his strongest comments yet on the offensive, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called for Turkey to show ""restraint.""


He warned the offensive ""disrupts what was a relatively stable area in Syria and distracts from the international effort to defeat"" IS Clarence Weatherspoon 76ers Jersey , on a visit to Indonesia.


Turkish artillery on Tuesday pounded targets of the YPG inside Syria, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. Meanwhile, Turkish drones were also carrying out attacks, state television said.


The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said ""fierce clashes"" were continuing especially north and southwest of Afrin.


As well as the artillery and air strikes Charles Barkley 76ers Jersey , Turkish ground troops and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels have punched over the border several kilometers into Syrian territory, taking several villages, according to state media.


After intense exchanges, Turkey's forces took control of the hill of Barsaya Amir Johnson 76ers Jersey , a key strategic point in the Afrin region.


The Observatory said 25 Ankara-backed rebels and 26 Kurdish fighters had been killed in the fighting so far. It has also said 24 civilians have been killed on the Syrian side but this is vehemently rejected by Turkey which says it is only targeting militants.


(Agencies)