Xinhua Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT, Jan. 21

ANKARA -- Turkey has started a land operation against the Syrian Kurdish militants with land troops entering Syria's Afrin at 11:05 local time (0805 GMT) on Sunday, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced.

The military operation will aim to establish a 30 km security zone into the Afrin province from Turkish border, he told in a briefing to journalists. (Turkey-Syria-Arin)

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ISTANBUL -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday voiced hope for the ongoing military operation against Kurdish militia in Syria's Afrin to end "in a very short time."

Turkey sent ground forces into Afrin in northwestern Syria on Sunday morning on the second day of the so-called Operation Olive Branch, following one-day artillery and air strikes on targets of the Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG). (Turkey-Afrin Operation)

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ANKARA -- A Syrian national was killed when three rockets hit Turkey's southeastern town of Reyhanli on the Syrian border Sunday, private broadcaster NTV reported.

Thirty-two others were wounded in the attacks, of whom two are in critical conditions, said Huseyin Sanverdi, Mayor of Reyhanli in a televised interview with NTV. (Turkey-Syria-Rockets)

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AMMAN -- King Abdullah II of Jordan said Sunday that the United States needs to rebuild trust to achieve the two-state solution that entails creating an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The king made the remarks at a meeting with visiting U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, during which the U.S. official said his country was committed to the two-state solution if it is agreed by both Israel and the Palestinians. (U.S.-Jordan-Palestinian Cause)

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DAMASCUS -- At least 18 civilians have been killed in the Turkish military campaign against Syria's Kurdish-held Afrin enclave in northern Syria, a monitor group reported Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred in Afrin and surrounding villages, as Turkey started its offensive on Saturday by airstrikes and shelling and commenced its ground incursion on Sunday to drive out the Kurdish forces from border areas between Syria and Turkey. (Syria-Turkey-Afrin) Enditem