Ankara, Oct 27 (IANS): A Turkish soldier was killed and five others sustained injuries in an attack by the Syrian Kurdish group in northern Syria, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The casualties of the Turkish army were "a result of the harassment attacks committed by PKK/YPG terrorists against our elements conducting reconnaissance-surveillance activities in Ras al-Ain, the area of Operation Peace Spring," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry was referring to Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) regarded by Ankara as an affiliation with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Xinhua news agency reported.

The Turkish army responded and the targets have been eliminated, said the statement.

Following the recent US decision to withdraw its troops from northern Syria, the Turkish forces launched an incursion into Syria earlier in October in a bid to drive Kurdish fighters out of the area of a planned safe zone.

Under the US-Turkey deal reached on October 17 on a five-day truce, Turkey agreed to halt its military operation to pave the way for withdrawal of the YPG fighters from the safe zone.

Turkey and Russia later agreed in the Russian city of Sochi to give the YPG fighters another 150 hours to withdraw from the planned safe zone area.