Turkish troops capture Syrian village, tightening grip on Kurdish militia

MARSAWA, Syria — Turkey’s prime minister said Saturday that Turkish troops have captured a strategic village in the Kurdish-held enclave in northwestern Syria, tightening its grip on Kurdish militia in the sixth week of its offensive on the area.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the Kurdish Afrin district has been “surrounded” by the military, special police and paramilitary forces, as well as allied Syrian opposition fighters. “Afrin has been surrounded. We have cleared all areas near our borders of terror nests,” he said at a rally in the central province of Konya, adding that Turkey would not cease its campaign against “terror.”

Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters have been attacking Afrin from the north, west and east, and have formed a crescent around the district.

Turkey said it wants to oust the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, from Afrin. It considers the group a terrorist organization, an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders. Turkey said 41 of its soldiers have been killed since the operation began.

Associated Press journalists gained access to Afrin district for the first time Saturday on a tour organized by the Turkish-government, visiting a small village recently cleared of the YPG.

Captain Ahmed Taqtaq of the allied Syrian forces in Marsawa village said they seized control of three villages in the past 10 days, fighting some 50 Syrian Kurdish fighters. He said, “Since we were in elevated areas, it facilitated our advance toward these villages.” Armed Syrian fighters patrolled the village.