Ankara: Almost 600 Turkish troops pushed deep into Syria in an unprecedented incursion, evacuating Turkish soldiers guarding a historic tomb who had been stranded in territory controlled by Islamic State jihadists.

The Damascus government, which no longer controls the area but is at loggerheads with Ankara over the Syria conflict, lashed out at what it described as a "flagrant aggression" and said it would hold Ankara responsible for its repercussions.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference on Sunday that the soldiers had returned home safely with the remains of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the Ottoman empire's founder, Osman I.

Suleyman Shah's tomb is 32 kilometres south of the Turkish border, but it has been considered Turkish territory since a 1921 treaty with France, which ruled Syria under a League of Nations mandate at that time. Fighters from IS have kept the Turkish soldiers there trapped for months, although they did not attack the tomb.