Turkish war planes on Saturday launched air strikes on positions of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in Syria, the prime minister said, as Ankara launched a much-awaited operation against the group.

"Our armed forces have started an air campaign in order to destroy elements" of the YPG, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in a televised speech. An AFP correspondent on the Turkish side of the border saw two war planes launch air strikes inside Syrian territory.

Meanwhile, units of pro-Ankara rebels known by Turkey as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) began moving into the Afrin area of Syria which is controlled by the YPG, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

Source: AFP