Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighters are seen as they advance in north of Afrin, Syria,March 8, 2018. (Reuters photo)
ANKARA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's military has surrounded Syria's Afrin and is ready to enter the city "at any moment," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
"We have besieged Afrin. We can enter Afrin at any moment," Erdogan said as Turkish forces were just 6 km away from the city of Afrin.
"Turkey will make sure the east of the Euphrates to the Iraqi border is cleansed of any terrorist group after operations in Syria," he said.
A total of 3,171 terrorists have been neutralized in Afrin since the start of Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Syria, according to the Turkish president.
Turkey's foreign minister said Thursday Turkish forces would complete the Afrin offensive by May and would carry out a joint operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in Iraq with Baghdad.
Turkey launched the operation on Jan. 20 to clear the People's Protection Units (YPG) , which Ankara considers a terror group affiliated to the PKK, from northwestern Syria.