KILIS, Turkey (AP) - Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters captured a strategic hill in northwestern Syria on Sunday as their offensive to root out Kurdish fighters enters its second week, Turkey's military and Syrian war monitor reported. Rami Abdurrahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed the Turkish troops seized control of the strategic hill, which overlooks northeastern Afrin, after intense battles. The Observatory said 66 YPG fighters and 69 Turkey-backed Syrian fighters were also killed, while Turkey said five of its soldiers and 16 allied fighters were killed in the fighting. Reports also emerged that an ancient temple in Afrin was badly damaged in Turkish airstrikes that struck its courtyard late Friday, according to the Observatory, the YPG and the Syrian government. The Turkish operation aims to oust from Afrin a militia made up of an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 fighters affiliated with the People’s Protection Units or YPG, a Syrian Kurdish group that has controlled territory in northern Syria and proven effective in fighting the Islamic State group.
Turkish airstrikes and shelling heavily damage the ancient Syro-Hittite Ain Dara temple in Syria's Afrin District. The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums calls on the international community to pressure Turkey "to prevent the targeting of archaeological and cultural sites".