ANKARA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 260 members of Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) were killed at Turkey's offense into 's Afrin district since Saturday, the Turkish army said on Tuesday.

The "Operation Olive Branch" continues successfully and as planned, the Turkish Armed Forces said in a written statement.

One Turkish soldier was killed, another wounded in clashes on Tuesday, the statement said, making the total casualty of the Turkish army at three since the operation was launched.

The Turkish military launched the cross border land operation to fight the Syrian Kurdish militia, targeting the YPG elements in the Kurdish enclave with Free Syrian Army fighters through airstrikes and land forces.

YPG is the military wing of the PYD, a group in northern Syria that Ankara has deemed a "terror group" for its links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.