A Turkish military convoy entered rebel-held northwestern Syria early on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent reported, as the deadline for establishing a buffer zone between rebel and government forces draws closer.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Germany Thursday for a controversial three-day state visit that both sides hope will help rebuild relations that have been battered in recent years.

Turkish troop reinforcements entered Syria's rebel bastion of Idlib on Tuesday, an AFP correspondent reported, a week after a deal between Ankara and Moscow averted a government offensive.

Around 35 military vehicles travelled south down the main highway near the town of Saraqib after midnight.

Turkish police on Friday detained 85 military personnel in countrywide raids over alleged links to the group blamed for the 2016 failed coup, state media reported.

Turkey, which was last month buffeted by its worst currency crisis in recent years, on Thursday forecast sharply lower growth coupled with persistently high inflation in its new medium-term economic programme.

Turkey on Wednesday made it easier for foreigners to become Turkish citizens by cutting the financial and investment criteria required for citizenship, according to a decree from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday hailed an agreement between Turkey and Russia to avert an assault on Syria's last major rebel stronghold in Idlib province as an example of "responsible diplomacy."

Moscow said Monday there would be no assault on Syria's Idlib as the leaders of Russia and Turkey agreed to create a demilitarized zone around the Syrian rebel-held province.

Inflation in Turkey rose again in August to nearly 18 percent, official statistics showed on Monday, a record since late 2003 and coming after the Turkish lira dramatically weakened against the US dollar last month. 

Shots were fired at a security booth outside the U.S. Embassy in Turkey's capital early Monday, but U.S. officials said no one was hurt.

Private Ihlas news agency said four to five rounds were fired from a moving white car and targeted the booth outside Gate 6 at the embassy in Ankara. Police were searching for the car.