One Turkish soldier was killed and eight others were wounded on Tuesday after an attack by Kurdish fighters from the northern Syrian town of Manbij, Turkey's defence ministry said, adding that at least 15 fighters had been "neutralised" in retaliation.

Earlier on Tuesday, Syrian state media reported that Syria's army had entered Manbij, but the Turkey-backed rebels later said that those entering the town were mostly Kurdish militants.

In a statement, the defence ministry said Kurdish fighters launched a mortar attack from Manbij. Turkish forces launched retaliatory fire to the area where the attack came from and "neutralised" at least 15 of the fighters, it said.