Turkish-backed forces reach key highway in Syria offensive

Turkish forces stepped up their bombardment after US troops came under artillery fire from Turkish positions

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  Halil Tokak, right, the neighborhood chief and another resident, inspect the damage on a house, caused by a mortar fired from inside Syria, on the Turkish town of Akcakale, southeastern Turkey. Nobody got hurt by the attack as the owners of the house were not at home at the time of the attack. AP Photo

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  Displaced Syrians, who fled their homes in the border town of Ras al-Ain, receive humanitarian aid, in the town of Tal Tamr in the countryside of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province. Ras al-Ain would be the first town to fall to Ankara's forces since the launch of its cross-border offensive earlier in the week. Both it and Tal Abyad further west have been major goals of the invasion as Turkey seeks to impose its control over the area between them which although Kurdish-controlled, is mainly ethnic Arab. AFP

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  A displaced Syrian woman, who fled her home in the border town of Ras al-Ain, receives humanitarian aid, in the town of Tal Tamr in the countryside of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province. Ras al-Ain would be the first town to fall to Ankara's forces since the launch of its cross-border offensive earlier in the week. Both it and Tal Abyad further west have been major goals of the invasion as Turkey seeks to impose its control over the area between them which although Kurdish-controlled, is mainly ethnic Arab. AFP

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  Relatives mourn during the funeral ceremony of Ismail Taskin who was killed in a mortar attack a day earlier in Suruc near northern Syria border, during funeral ceremony in Suruc. Ten Turkish civilians were killed in cross-border shelling on Friday, while four of Turkey's soldiers died as Ankara pressed on with its offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria. Eight civilians were killed and 35 injured in one mortar strike in Nusaybin in Mardin province, according to the governor's office cited by local media. AFP

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  Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (C) and relatives of Turkish soldier Ahmet Topcu who was killed during the military operation in Kurdish areas, pray near by his coffin during a military funeral in Ankara, Turkey. Turkey has launched an offensive targeting Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria, days after the US withdrew troops from the area. EPA

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  A journalist looks out of an hole on a house that was damaged by a mortar fired from inside Syria, on the Turkish town of Akcakale, southeaster, Turkey.Nobody got hurt by the attack. The owners of the house weren't home at the time of the attack. Turkey says its military offensive has taken central Ras al-Ayn, a key border town in northeastern Syria, and its most significant gain since its cross-border operation began against Syrian Kurdish fighters began. AP Photo

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  An explosion and smoke are seen over the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain as seen from the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, Sanliurfa province, Turkey. REUTERS

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  Turkish military vehicles carrying tanks head to the Syrian border as farmers work in a cotton field in Akcakale, Turkey. The military action is part of a campaign to extend Turkish control of more of northern Syria, a large swath of which is currently held by Syrian Kurds, whom Turkey regards as a threat. U.S. President Donald Trump granted tacit American approval to this campaign, withdrawing his country's troops from several Syrian outposts near the Turkish border. Getty Images

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  Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters stand together in the border town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. Reuters

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  A Turkish soldier gives water to a Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter in the border town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. Reuters

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  Displaced Syrians sit in the back of a pick up truck as Arab and Kurdish civilians flee amid Turkey's military assault on Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria in the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad. AFP

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  Displaced Syrians sit in the back of a pick up truck as Arab and Kurdish civilians flee amid Turkey's military assault on Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria in the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad. AFP

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  Displaced Syrians sit in the back of a pick up truck as Arab and Kurdish civilians flee amid Turkey's military assault on Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria in the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad. AFP

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  Displaced Syrians ride a motorcycle Arab and Kurdish civilians flee amid Turkey's military assault on Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria in the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad. AFP

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  Displaced Syrians stand on the side of a road as Arab and Kurdish civilians flee amid Turkey's military assault on Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria in the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad. AFP

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  A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter holds the Syrian opposition flag in the border town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. Reuters

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  A crowd of over 500 people protest in support of Kurds after the Trump administration changed its policy in Syria, in front of the federal courthouse in Nashville, Tennessee, US. Reuters

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  A crowd of over 500 people protest in support of Kurds after the Trump administration changed its policy in Syria, in front of the federal courthouse in Nashville, Tennessee, US. Reuters

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  Members of the special forces of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are pictured during preparations to join the front against Turkish forces, on October 10, 2019, near the northern Syrian town of Hasakeh. AFP

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  Members of the special forces of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are pictured during preparations to join the front against Turkish forces, near the northern Syrian town of Hasakeh. AFP

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  People look on as smoke rises from the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, in a picture taken from the Turkish side of the border in Ceylanpinar, on the third day of Turkey's military operation against Kurdish forces. AFP

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  Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters hold the Syrian opposition flag as they walk together in the border town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. Reuters

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  A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter walks as he holds a bag and a weapon in the border town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. Reuters

Turkey's official news agency has said that Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces have reached a strategic highway in northeastern Syria as Turkey's offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters enters its fourth day.

Anadolu news agency said on Saturday the forces have arrived at the M-4 highway that connects the Syrian towns of Manbij and Qamishli. The road is about 30 kilometres south of the Turkish border.

Turkey has said it aims to push back Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers terrorists for its links to a decades-long Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.

Mr Erdogan said on Friday Turkey won't stop until the YPG, who forms the backbone of the US-backed ground force against the Islamic State, withdraws below a 32 kilometre deep line.

Turkish forces stepped up their bombardment around a town in north-east Syria on Saturday, the fourth day of the offensive, after US troops in the region came under artillery fire from Turkish positions.

The United States has ramped up its efforts to persuade Ankara to halt the incursion against the US-backed Kurdish forces, saying Ankara was causing "great harm" to ties and could face sanctions.

Turkey opened its offensive after US President Donald Trump spoke by phone on Sunday with Mr Erdogan and withdrew US troops who had been fighting alongside Kurdish forces.

On Friday evening, Mr Erdogan dismissed mounting international criticism of the operation and said Turkey "will not stop it, no matter what anyone says".

The death toll among Syrian Kurdish-led fighters battling a Turkish offensive has risen to 74, most of whom have been killed in the Tel Abyad area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

Observatory Director Rami Abdulrahman also said 49 fighters with Turkish backed Syrian rebel groups had been killed since the assault began on Wednesday.

The death toll among civilians in Syria had climbed to 20 after two people died in the city of Qamishli, he said. Most of the civilian deaths were also in Tel Abyad, a border town that is one of the focal points of the operation.