Turkey Accuses Syrian Kurds of Killing Soldier despite Pause

The Turkish Defense Ministry says one of its soldiers was killed and another wounded on Sunday during a reconnaissance mission in the 20-mile-wide zone just inside Syria that Ankara is trying to clear of Kurdish fighters. It accused the Kurdish YPG militia of carrying out the attack using anti-tank and light weaponry despite a five-day pause in the fighting that Turkey agreed to last Thursday at the behest of the United States. The Kurds accused Ankara of violating the temporary truce by shelling some of their positions on Friday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Saturday that his troops, along with members of a Turkish-backed Syrian militia, will “crush [their] heads” if the Kurds have not withdrawn their fighters from the corridor by the end of the five days. Erdogan said he would be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in the Russian coastal-resort city of Sochi. Russia has expressed displeasure with the Turkish incursion, although Russian forces in Syria are remaining out of the fray.