Turkey-led forces clear 3 more villages of YPG terrorists in northeastern Syria

Turkey's state-run news agency says three more villages located in the northeastern region of war-torn Syria have been liberated from the YPG terrorists on the third day of the cross-border offensive dubbed the "Operation Peace Spring".

Anadolu news agency said Friday Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters and the Turkish military captured the villages of Tal Hafer and Asfar Nejjar near Ras al-Ayn, and the village of Halava located in Tal Abyad.

Since the beginning of the Operation Peace Spring , fourteen villages around Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn in northeastern Syria have captured by Turkish forces and the National Syrian Army [SNA] fighters.

Turkey says it intends to go 30 kilometers (19 miles) deep into northern Syria to push back YPG and Daesh militants and set up a "safe zone."

Turkey on Wednesday launched Operation Peace Spring east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria to secure its borders by eliminating terrorist elements and to ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees and Syria's territorial integrity.

Ankara wants to eliminate terrorist elements from the PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the PYD-YPG.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.