WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department urged Turkey on Thursday not to take military action against Afrin region in Syria and called instead for Ankara to remain focused on fighting Islamic State militants in the region.

Asked about signs that Turkey was preparing to strike a Kurdish militia in Afrin, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing: “We would call ... on the Turks to not take any actions of that sort. ... We don’t want them to engage in violence but we want them to keep focused on ISIS.”