The coffin of a revered Turkish historical figure has been given a new resting place, after the country sent hundreds of soldiers into Syria to prise it from the grip of Islamic State militants. Soldiers re-interred the remains of Suleyman Shah, whose grandson Osman I founded the Ottoman Empire in the 12th Century, after yesterday evacuating it from Aleppo Province. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan today denied the move was a retreat, instead calling it 'a temporary move in order not to risk soldiers' lives,' after militants threatened to attack the tomb. Scroll down for video Solemn: Turkish soldiers stand to attention during a ceremony marking the relocation of the coffins brought from the Tomb of Suleyman Shah to a temporary position near Sanliurfa, south-east of Turkey
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Remains of Suleyman Shah re-interred at spot 200m from Turkish border
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Turkish President denies move is a retreat after criticism from opposition
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Syrian government denounces incursion as an act of 'flagrant aggression'
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Overnight operation saw 600 Turkish troops enter Syria near Kobane
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Some 40 troops have been guarding Ottoman tomb in Syria since 2012
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Operation saw the guard extracted, tomb destroyed and remains moved
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Shah was the grandfather of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire
Controversial: A digger works near a Turkish flag flying inside of @placeholder, at the new location for the tomb
Nearly 600 Turkish soldiers and 100 armoured vehicles entered @placeholder to evacuate the crypt and the men guarding it, in an act Syria denounced as 'flagrant aggression'.
In a hugely symbolic move, the troops also raised their flag over a new area of raised ground inside @placeholder but easily visible from the Turkish border.
The location of the tomb was flooded in 1973 due to the building of a new dam, and @placeholder moved the mausoleum.