The United States wants to maintain support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their fight against Islamic State militants despite US troops withdrawing from northern Syria, a Pentagon official said Tuesday. 

Tunisia's president-elect Kais Saied has won a clear mandate to fight corruption and promote social justice, even though his role focuses on security and diplomacy.

The United States is not aware of any "major" escape of Islamic State extremists since Turkey launched its assault on Syrian Kurdish fighters holding the prisoners, an official said Tuesday.

Key Damascus ally Iran on Tuesday renewed its call on Ankara to end a deadly assault on northeastern Syria, as Turkey pressed a cross-border offensive against Kurdish forces.

Turkey dismissed global opposition to its military operation in Syria on Tuesday and slammed a "dirty deal" between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and Kurdish forces as U.S. troops began their withdrawal from the battle zone. 

The withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria was a win for President Vladimir Putin, strengthening Russia's role as the key foreign player in the war-torn country.

Burying fighters killed in a nearly week-long battle against Turkish forces in northern Syria, the country's Kurdish minority denounced a "betrayal" by U.S. allies that paved the way for Ankara's offensive.

Kurdish fighters put up fierce resistance Tuesday to Turkish forces battling to seize a key town in northeastern Syria, as the violence forced international aid organisations to halt their activities.

Two Turkish soldiers were killed on Tuesday after shelling from the Manbij region, where Ankara's forces had clashed with Kurdish militants the night before, the defense ministry said in a statement. 

The U.N. Security Council will convene on Wednesday to discuss Turkey's military incursion in northeast Syria, diplomats said, with Ankara showing no sign of relenting in its assault on the Kurds.