Turkey to 'target YPG until it moves east of Euphrates'

ANKARA (AA) - The armed wing of the PKK/PYD terrorist group will be targeted "until it moves east of Euphrates River," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday.

In remarks made during a joint press conference with his Dutch counterpart Bert Koenders in Ankara, Cavusoglu said: "YPG will be targeted until it moves east of Euphrates.

"They need to move to the east side of Euphrates River as soon as possible, as they had announced and as the U.S. had promised."

The PYD terrorist group is PKK's offshoot in Syria.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists killed.

Operation Euphrates Shield, which was launched on Wednesday, is aimed at improving security, supporting coalition forces and eliminating the terror threat along Turkey’s border through Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters backed by Turkish armor, artillery and jets.