Turkey not targeting Syrian Kurdish civilians, official says

The Turkish military are not targeting Syrian Kurdish civilians after reports saying tanks shelled Kurdish-held villages in northern Syria, a Turkish government official said on Monday.

"The ongoing military operation seeks to neutralize imminent threats to Turkey's national security and continues to target the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Syria and the PKK in Iraq," the official has said.

He said the Syrian Kurdish "PYD, along with others, remains outside the scope of the current military effort."

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 ISIS terrorists and the PKK militants after a wave of violence in the country, pounding their positions with air strikes and artillery.

Early on Monday, Turkish police detained 15 people with suspected links to ISIS in the Hacıbayram district of the capital Ankara, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.

Eleven of the 15 detainees were foreigners, Anadolu said, adding that the operation was backed by around 500 police officers who raided several addresses.

The Turkish official told AFP the operations against ISIS and PKK were continuing, adding that a total of 900 people had been detained so far with links to the ISIS, PKK and other leftist organisations.

"We are fighting against all terrorist organizations," said the official.