"We lost five servicemen during Operation Olive Branch. The total number of fatalities, including the Free Syrian Army, stands at 29 people," Canikli said, addressing the parliament.
The minister added the Turkish forces had destroyed "458 terrorist group targets and 649 terrorists" during the operation.
READ MORE: Turkey's General Staff Refutes Rumors of Using Napalm in Syria's Afrin
On January 20, the Turkish Armed Forces launched a joint operation with the Free Syrian Army opposition forces against the Kurdish forces in Afrin. The district is controlled by the US-backed the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Democratic Union Party (PYD) militias, which Ankara considers affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey and several other countries.
Damascus has strongly condemned Ankara's actions, with the Syrian Foreign Ministry calling them a violation of the country's sovereignty
