Erdogan says Turkey will clear border of Syrian Kurds

ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkey's president has slammed a U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militant group and says he'll clear his country's border of "terrorists."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday his country would not allow "terror nests" near its border, referring to areas held by the People's Protection Units or YPG in northern Syria.

Turkey considers the YPG an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its borders, and launched an operation in August 2016 to clear part of its border of them and the Islamic State group.

Erdogan announced an expanded list of areas to be cleared. "We will clean Afrin of terrorists, we will clean Manbij of terrorists. We will clean Tel Abyad, Ras al-Ayn and Qamishli of terrorists," he said.

Turkish officials regularly criticize the U.S. for backing Syrian Kurds in combatting IS.