Kurdish militia retake northern Syrian town from ISIS

Kurdish forces in northern Syria captured a key town along the Euphrates River from the Islamic State on Monday, while charging that Turkey has shelled Kurdish villages in the area.

No fewer than  four fighters and several civilians were wounded in three waves of Turkish shelling in an area controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Free Syrian Army, a monitoring group and Kurdish sources said, reports dpa.

Senior Kurdish official Idriss Nassaan told dpa that the fighters were injured after the shelling of a joint base in Zour Magaar, a village about 30 kilometres west of Kobane.

The YPG, which is the main ally of the United States on the ground in its fight against Islamic State in Syria, said Turkish artillery also struck four of its vehicles to the east of Kobane.

The newly captured town, Sarrin, south of Kobane, is located along key crossroads and is a strategic centre near the river. Kobane was the scene of heavy battles earlier this year between Kurdish fighters and Islamic State extremists.

Turkish troops started airstrikes on Friday targeting Islamic State in Syria, but appear to have shifted focus to attacking bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

The attacks on the Kurds, and domestic unrest in Kurdish parts of the Turkey and areas of Istanbul, risk scuppering a peace process between Ankara and the Kurdish militants. A ceasefire had largely held since 2013.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referred to the shelling as "unacceptable," saying it showed that Ankara was going beyond its remit to hit Islamic State positions in northern Syria.

The PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for greater autonomy for Turkey's Kurdish minority, said the airstrikes against it showed that the 2013 ceasefire "has no real meaning."

The YPG is seen as a sister organization of the PKK, which Turkey and Western countries have listed as a terrorist group.

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities continued an ongoing security sweep by arresting 15 people with suspected links to Islamic State, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

This follows hundreds of arrests since Friday targeting suspected members of Islamic State, the PKK and leftist groups.

A police officer was killed Sunday in Istanbul as sporadic incidents of violence continued for a third day, raising concerns about domestic stability.

Turkey currently has an interim government following last month's elections. With no clear coalition emerging, there is speculation the country could head to fresh polls before the end of the year.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is attempting to reach out to Turkish nationalist voters, analysts say, hoping to get enough votes to govern alone in the event of new elections. The nationalists are often opposed to the peace process with the PKK.

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who spearheaded talks with the government and has called on the group to consider disarmament, has been unable to receive visitors since April. Kurdish officials have denounced what they describe as his isolation.