Russia said Thursday it was patrolling in areas along the "line of contact" between Syrian and Turkish forces, as the US-led coalition in Syria confirmed it had pulled its troops from the area.

Russia's defence ministry said the patrols were taking place after Syrian government troops took control of the city of Manbij.

"The Syrian government army has full control over the city of Manbij and nearby settlements," the ministry said in a statement.

"Russian military police continue to patrol the northwestern border area of Manbij district along the line of contact between the Syrian Arab Republic and Turkish armed forces," it said.

"Cooperation is organised with the Turkish side."

A spokesman for the US-led coalition confirmed its forces had pulled out of the area.

"Coalition forces are executing a deliberate withdrawal from northeast Syria. We are out of Manbij," the spokesman said.

Syrian forces moved into the area as part of a deal that has seen regime troops deploy in several Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria's north to protect the region from an assault by Turkish forces.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the situation with his US counterpart Mark Esper in a phone conversation on Tuesday.

The two talked about matters of "mutual interest" relating to the Turkish offensive, the Russian ministry said in a statement without giving any more detail.

Russia is a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad and launched a military intervention in 2015 in support of his forces.

Moscow's special envoy on Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, said Tuesday that it would not allow clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces.

"This would simply be unacceptable... And therefore we will not allow it, of course," Lavrentyev, who was on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

He said Turkish and Syrian officials were in contact to avoid any conflict.

"Negotiations are taking place in real time," he said.

Two Turkish soldiers killed in shelling from Syria's Manbij: ministry
Istanbul (AFP) Oct 15, 2019 - 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 defence ministry said in a statement.

The soldiers were killed "following artillery fire by the terrorists from the Manbij region," the ministry said.

Seven soldiers were initially wounded in the attack, it added.

The statement did not provide the precise location but said the army returned fire and killed at least 15 "terrorists."

Six Turkish soldiers have been killed since Ankara launched its cross-border operation last Wednesday against Kurdish militants in Syria.

Syrian forces have moved into Manbij following a deal between Damascus and the Kurds over the weekend to try to hold back Turkey's advance.

Meanwhile, shelling from Kurdish positions in Syria killed two civilians and wounded 12 others on Tuesday in the Turkish border town of Kiziltepe in Mardin province, the Anadolu state news agency reported.

Turkish border towns have come under heavy artillery fire from Kurdish positions in Syria, killing a total of 20 civilians since the operation began, and causing thousands to take refuge away from frontier.

Ankara is pressing its military operation against Kurdish militants, with the goal of clearing its border from "terrorists" and creating a "safe zone" to repatriate Syrian refugees.

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Russia bombed four Syria hospitals in 12 hours: report
Washington (AFP) Oct 13, 2019
Russian warplanes bombed four hospitals in rebel-held territory in Syria over a period of just 12 hours earlier this year, The New York Times reported on Sunday. The May strikes - which the newspaper tied to Moscow through Russian radio recordings, plane spotter logs and accounts by witnesses - are part of a larger pattern of medical facilities targeted by forces supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's devastating civil war. Nabad al Hayat Surgical Hospital - which staff ... read more