Turkey has deployed additional troops and equipment along part of its border with Syria as fighting north of the city of Aleppo intensified, security sources said, but Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there were no immediate plans for any incursion.

Ankara has suggested the creation of a "secure zone" in Syrian territory due to concerns about Syrian Kurd advances and the presence of Islamic State militants, as well the possibility of a fresh wave of refugees fleeing the conflict.

Security sources and officials in the capital, Ankara, said the Turkish army had stepped up security, also sending in special forces, due to the heavy fighting.