2nd LD-Writethru: Syria condemns Turkish attack on Kurdish-held Afrin enclave

DAMASCUS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the Turkish attack on Syria's Kurdish-held Afrin enclave, denying Turkish claims that Ankara informed Damascus about the attack beforehand, according to state news agency SANA.

The "aggression constitutes the latest step in the Turkish aggressions on the Syrian sovereignty," the ministry said after the Turkish army carried out airstrikes on the Kurdish positions in Afrin.

The ministry said Afrin is part of the Syrian Arab Republic, urging the international community to take measures to stop the Turkish attack immediately.

Meanwhile, the ministry denied Turkish claims that Ankara informed Damascus about the attack beforehand, saying the Turkish claims are part of a series of lies from the Turkish regime.

Earlier on Saturday, three Turkish F-16 jets carried out 11 airstrikes on Kurdish positions on the outskirts of Afrin, marking the official beginning of the Turkish military campaign against the Syrian Kurdish fighters in the region.

The battle of Afrin has been long anticipated, as Turkey made clear that it was going to unleash an offensive, along with the Ankara-backed Syrian rebels, against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin.

Turkey deems the YPG as a terror group belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The United States, which heavily backs the Kurdish forces and see them as reliable allies in Syria, has urged Turkey not to fight the Kurds in Afrin, while the Syrian government has warned it would shoot down any Turkish warplane fighting in Afrin. Enditem