Erdogan vows to target other Syrian towns following Afrin operation

ISTANBUL, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Friday once again to move militarily against other Syrian towns days after Turkish troops and its allies took control of the Afrin city in northwestern Syria.

"Our job will not end in Afrin. We have Idlib and Manbij next," Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul.

The Turkish military has set up several observation posts in Idlib province under a deal with Russia and Iran aimed at ending clashes in Syria, while the United States vowed on Thursday not to leave Manbij, a town under the control of Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) with a U.S. military presence.

Erdogan said he discussed the latest developments in Syria with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

"We said that we would not take a step back from here and Turkey will continue to protect the victims of the Syrian war," the Turkish president said.

Erdogan on Monday threatened to expand military operations into other Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria and northern Iraq, one day after Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels took over the Afrin city following a two-month operation against the YPG-held district.

Erdogan said 3,731 terrorists have been "neutralized" since Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch against the Afrin district on Jan. 20.

Ankara is seeking to clear its border area of YPG militants, as it regards them as terrorists, but Washington has used them as a reliable ground force against the Islamic State. Enditem