BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkish forces and U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters on Tuesday exchanged heavy shelling in the northern Syrian border town of Kobani, killing a civilian as the conflict escalated between the warring parties. The Turkish Defense Ministry said one soldier was killed and four others wounded in a mortar attack on a military border post in Şanlıurfa province on the Turkish side of the border, 25 km west of Kobani. Artillery shelling hit the town and its surroundings, starting at night and escalating throughout the day, according to residents and the semi-autonomous local administration that runs the city. The administration said in a statement on the Internet that at least one child was killed in the bombing and others were wounded. Ankara sees the semi-autonomous regime - led by Kurdish factions and controlling large swathes of northern and eastern Syria - as a threat to national security on its borders. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged a new incursion to create a 30-kilometer safe zone in northern Syria, to include Kobani and other towns controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. The Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement that after the mortar attack in Şanlıurfa, the Turkish forces responded by firing at targets in the area. "According to preliminary information in the area, 13 terrorists have been neutralized. Operations are continuing in the area," she added. The term "neutralised" usually means murder, but it can also mean injury or capture. A Turkish official said the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) of the Syrian Democratic Forces carried out the mortar attack. Ankara considers these units a terrorist group. Kobani has been relatively calm since US-backed Kurdish fighters expelled Islamic State militants from the town in 2015. But bombings and drone attacks escalated in several border towns. At least three Kurdish leaders were killed last month, and the SDF blamed Ankara. Delevingne, a shop owner and mother of one child, said scenes of chaos erupted in Kobani when the shelling intensified on Tuesday. "People started running everywhere, cars were here and there, people were asking about their friends and family. Then the voices started rising from all directions," she told Reuters by phone from Kobani. "There was a lot of screaming, a lot of fear. Now everyone is locked in their homes," said Delphine, who preferred to give herself by her first name for security reasons. This comes one day after the US military announced that a drone attack hit a compound run by US forces and US-backed Syrian opposition fighters in eastern Syria on Monday, without causing any casualties. "The forces of Operation Inherent Resolve, in coordination with our partners in Maghawir Al-Thawra, responded to an attack launched by several drones in the vicinity of Al-Tanf base," the US military added in a statement. The Maghawir al-Thawra is one of the Syrian opposition fighters backed by the United States. American and coalition forces are stationed in Al-Tanf to train Syrian fighters to confront ISIS fighters. The attack took place at the base, which is located near the meeting point of the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. "Coalition personnel reserve the right to self-defense, and we will take appropriate measures to protect our forces," said Maj. Gen. John Brennan, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force.