Turkey has warned the US it was “playing with fire” over plans to set up a 30,000-strong force to police its border with Syria, saying it had tanks ready at the frontier.

The US announced plans on Sunday for a "border security force" - made up of Kurdish and Arab fighters - to prevent a resurgence by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

The BSF will be tasked with securing the long sections of Syria's northern border with Turkey and eastern border with Iraq that are under the fighters' control, as well as parts of the Euphrates river valley, which effectively serves as the dividing line between them and Syrian pro-government forces.

Ankara has repeatedly warned Washington over its support for the Syrian Kurdish People’s Defence Units (YPG), which it sees as terrorist group over its links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) waging a bloody insurgency in southern Turkey.