Jan 22, 2018

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday he was "concerned" about Turkey's new offensive against Kurdish militia in northern Syria, as he urged all sides to show restraint in the conflict.

Tillerson was speaking in London as Turkey intensified its assault on Kurdish militia targets in Syria, aiming to oust the People's Protection Units (YPG) which Washington relies on to fight the jihadist Islamic State group.

"The US is in Syria to defeat ISIS," he said, using another acronym to for IS, as he began a meeting with his British counterpart Boris Johnson.

"We've done that with a coalition of partners and the (Kurdish-led) Syrian Democratic Forces, so we are concerned about the Turkish incidents in northern Syria," Tillerson added.

Turkish warplanes and artillery are backing a major ground offensive launched on Saturday in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin, aiming to oust the