Turkey warns to launch ground operation in Syria's Afrin

ANKARA - The Turkish land force will launch ground operation in Syria's Afrin on Sunday "depending on the developments," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Saturday.

The "Operation Olive Branch" has been continuing with artillery fire, and the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels have also been participating in the operation, he said in a televised press briefing.

Yildirim reiterated that Turkey decided to launch the operation after an increase in terror attacks on Turkish land from southeastern Syria.

Turkey never aims to harm the territorial integrity of Syria, but targets the terrorist, he noted.

The Turkish military launched a major cross-border airstrikes on Afrin against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara sees as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).