Turkey may have deliberately targeted US forces with artillery in northern Syria in order to push them out, coalition sources have told the Daily Telegraph.

US officials confirmed an explosion occurred near where a small contingent of its special forces were based on a hill near the town of Kobane.

They said the cause of the explosion had not been confirmed but local reports suggested it was either an artillery or air strike. No US personnel were injured.

It was the first time a coalition base had come under fire since Turkey's offensive began. US warplanes flew over the base immediately after the incident.

Turkey's defence ministry denied targeting the US position, saying its forces were responding to Kurdish fire that originated nearby.