Turkish forces have killed 58 Kurdish militants in northern Syria in overnight attacks on militant targets, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday, as conflict in the region escalated nearly a week after a bomb attack in Ankara.

The United States has imposed sanctions on two Turkish ministries and three senior government officials over the country's military offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country’s military forces and the Turkish-backed militants of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) have launched a long-threatened offensive in northeastern Syria against Kurdish militants from the People's Protection Units (YPG) to push them away from border areas.