Why were Turkish tanks seen entering Syria?
The Turkish army launch an operation into Syria to evacuate Turkish soldiers guarding an ancient Ottoman tomb.
Above: video footage shows Turkish forces returning after the incursion
The activity came after Ankara launched a major operation into Syrian territory to rescue about 40 soldiers who had been surrounded for months by Islamic State militants while guarding the tomb of a revered Turkish figure.
The operation, which involved tanks, drones, reconnaissance planes as well as several hundred ground troops, 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.
Ottoman tomb
The 38 soldiers who had been guarding the tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, were brought safely home.
The tomb, which was on a site within Syria that Ankara considers sovereign territory, was relocated to a temporary new site within Syria north of the village of Esmesi, close to the Turkish border, the foreign ministry said.
Normally, the detachment is rotated every six months but the last one was trapped there for eight months by Islamic State fighters.
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 US-led air strikes, drove Islamic State from Kobani last month.
