Turkey hands over 18 Syrian soldiers

Turkey has handed over 18 men believed to be Syrian government soldiers who were seized in northeast Syria near the Turkish border earlier this week, the Turkish Defence Ministry said.

The ministry did not say who they were handed over to but said the move came about after coordination with Russia. It took place ahead of the scheduled start on Friday of joint Turkish-Russian military patrols in northeastern Syria near the border.

The 18 men were seized during operations southeast of the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain on Tuesday, the ministry said.

Ras al-Ain is within the region targeted by Turkey in the offensive it launched on Oct. 9, together with allied Syrian rebels, to force the Kurdish YPG militia away from the border. Turkish forces have seized control of some 120 km (75 miles) of land between Ras al-Ain and another frontier town Tel Abyad.

Ankara and Moscow agreed last week to remove YPG fighters to a depth of 30 km (19 miles) south of the border inside Syria. Russia told Turkey that the YPG had left the strip within the 150-hour deadline.

On Wednesday, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had information that the YPG, which Ankara sees as a terrorist group because of its ties to Kurdish militants fighting an insurgency in southeast Turkey, had not completed its pullout.