DHAKA: Turkey has denied reports that some of its soldiers have entered Syria, the state-run Anadolu news agency says.

Turkish Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz also told a parliamentary commission it was not considering deploying troops there.

In letters of complaint to the UN, Syria had earlier accused Turkey of allowing about 100 "Turkish soldiers or mercenaries" - to cross into Syria, reports the BBC.

It urged the UN to take action against Turkish shelling in northern Syria, calling it a violation of sovereignty.

Turkey had shelled Kurdish forces over the weekend as they advanced in northern Aleppo province.

The Kurds have been capturing areas from Syrian rebel forces who are also fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

Ankara views the Kurdish militia in Syria as allied to the outlawed PKK, which has carried out a decades-long campaign for autonomy in Turkey.

Separately, the Turkish armed forces said one of its soldier was killed on Sunday evening in a border clash with a group seeking to enter Turkey illegally, Reuters reported.

Medecins Sans Frontieres also reported on Monday that a hospital it supported in the town of Marat al-Numan, in northern Idlib province, had been destroyed in morning air strikes.

On Monday, Yilmaz said reports of Turkish troops inside Syria were "not true", Anadolu reported.

Yilmaz added: "There is no thought of Turkish soldiers entering Syria."

In his comments to the parliamentary commission, Mr Yilmaz also denied that Saudi Arabian aircraft had arrived in Turkey to help with operations against so-called Islamic State (IS), but said a decision had been taken for Saudi Arabia to send four F-16s.

The Syrian government had earlier said in letters to the UN Secretary General and the Security Council's chairman that Turkey had allowed about 100 gunmen - believed to be either "Turkish soldiers or Turkish mercenaries" - to cross into Syria.

Syria believes the gunmen are trying to supply insurgents fighting in Damascus.

BDST:  1610 HRS, Feb 15, 2016
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