Turkey says the claim that it used chemicals in Syria's Afrin is baseless

Turkey has not used chemical weapons in its operations in Syria, and takes the utmost care to avoid civilian casualties, a Turkish diplomatic source said, after the YPG terror group and a war monitor accused it of carrying out a gas attack in Syria's Afrin region.

"These are baseless accusations. Turkey never used chemical weapons. We take [the] utmost care about civilians," the source said.

The source also described the accusations of wounding six civilians through a suspected gas attack as "black propaganda."

US says chemical use "extremely unlikely"

The US said it was "extremely unlikely" that Turkey used chemical weapons in Afrin.

A White House official said Washington was aware of the reports, but could not confirm them.

The YPG and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkish forces and their Syrian allies hit a village on Friday causing six people to suffer symptoms that indicated a suspected gas attack.

The claims could not be independently verified, and videos released from the hospital showed people being fitted with oxygen masks who did not otherwise show symptoms of poison gas inhalation.

Operation Olive Branch

Turkey launched an air and ground offensive on January 20, opening a new front in the multi-sided Syrian war in a bid to secure its borders, and prevent attacks from northern Syria by the YPG, a Syrian affiliate of the PKK, which Turkey, the US and EU designate as a terrorist organisation.

Since the onset of the wider Syrian conflict in 2011, the YPG and its allies have set up three autonomous cantons in the north of the country, including Afrin on Turkey's border.

Their sphere of influence expanded as they seized territory from Daesh with US backing, although Washington and Damascus oppose their plans for autonomy in the regions they control.

Ankara has demanded that the US stop backing the Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF in Syria, which is dominated by the YPG. The continued presence of US troops in SDF-controlled Manbij risks bringing the US and Turkey – NATO allies – into direct confrontation in northern Syria, as Turkey moves to enhance its security in the border region.