Turkish forces move into Afrin: state media

A day before, more than 70 Turkish warplanes hit over a hundred positions in Afrin with apparent consent from Russia. Ankara sent Islamist militants carried in at least 20 buses from the Kilis province into Syria.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) - On the second day of Turkey’s offensive on the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria, Turkish forces and Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants entered parts of the region, according to state media.

The government-funded Anadolu Agency wrote that FSA started to "move towards" Afrin in the early hours of the day, but did not provide any information as to whether they had crossed the border from Turkey.

Kurdish forces have not confirmed reports of a ground invasion.

A day before, more than 70 Turkish warplanes hit over a hundred positions in Afrin with apparent consent from Russia. Ankara sent Islamist militants carried in at least 20 buses from the Kilis province into Syria.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had earlier said that operation from the ground would commence on Sunday.

Yildirim met with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli who hailed Turkey's military action against the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

At least six civilians and three fighters were killed in the Turkish attacks, YPG officials have claimed.

Pictures from activists showed locations in or near residential areas hit by the jets.

The Turkish army stated it conducted airstrikes on 153 Kurdish YPG and Islamic State (IS) group targets since the beginning of the offensive on Afrin. IS does not have a presence there as it has been under the control of the YPG for some years.

The YPG, along with the US-led Coalition, have fought a years-long war in Syria to defeat the jihadist group.

The opening up of a new front in the internationalized Syrian civil war may bring the two NATO allies of Turkey and US into a confrontation, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to capture the town of Manbij east of Afrin as well, where the Pentagon stationed troops in support of the YPG.

Editing by Nadia Riva