Syrian Kurdish YPG says Turkey widens attacks

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Saturday the Turkish military had escalated attacks on its territory in northern Syria, accusing Ankara of sending vehicles over the border in the Kobani area, but a Turkish official denied it. In a statement, the YPG said the Turkish military had fired artillery on Friday night at a village near Kobani, and had also used heavy weapons to fire on YPG positions in the northwestern province of Afrin. Turkey this week launched a major operation in northern Syria, supporting Syrian rebels who aim to capture territory from Islamic State and to stop further expansion by the YPG, which already controls wide areas of the north. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, also said that Turkish military vehicles crossed the border into Syria near Kobani and dug earth barricades, triggering a protest. The Turkish official said construction vehicles, protected by military vehicles, had started digging holes to build a wall at the border in the Kobani area, but denied any had entered Kobani or crossed the frontier. The official said the project was announced a year ago. (Reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut and Orhan Coskun in Turkey, editing by Ros Russell)