Intense clashes erupted Monday on a strategic hilltop in northwestern Syria as Kurdish forces tried to enter the area a day after it was captured by Turkish troops. A Turkish special forces soldier takes aim on a mountain on the Syrian-Turkish border, north of Azaz on Jan. 28. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish militia in control of Afrin, the People's Defence Units or YPG, an extension of the Kurdish insurgency within its borders. The Interior Ministry said the suspects, who are accused of supporting the Syrian Kurdish forces, were detained in the past week but did not provide further details. Smoke billows from villages surrounding Afrin during the Turkish military operation against the Kurdish enclave, Jan. 28.

Source: CBC News January 29, 2018 23:03 UTC