ANKARA: Eleven Turkish soldiers were killed on Saturday, including twomilitary personnel when a helicopter was downed, in the bloodiest day inAnkara´s offensive against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria.

On January 20, Turkey launched a military operation against the KurdishPeople´s Protection Units (YPG) militia in the Afrin region, backing Syrianrebels with air strikes and ground troops.

“At this stage, we can say that one out of two helicopters was downed. Wehave two martyrs,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in televised remarks.

The Turkish military later said nine more soldiers were killed in separateincidents but did not give details.Another 11 soldiers were injured after the offensive´s bloodiest day forTurkish military personnel, the army said.

Yildirim said the helicopter was on a mission in the Afrin region as partof Ankara´s offensive dubbed Operation “Olive Branch”.

Ankara says the YPG is a “terrorist” offshoot of the outlawed KurdistanWorkers´ Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency insideTurkey and is blacklisted by Washington and the European Union.– APP/AFP