Turkey says 174 'terrorists' killed in offensive

Turkey's Defense Ministry says 174 "terrorists" have been "neutralized" in its cross-border military offensive, referring to Syrian Kurdish fighters.

The ministry tweeted Thursday that the number includes 19 alleged fighters killed in an airstrike on a shelter used by the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, in Ras al-Ayn.

The numbers could not be independently verified.

Turkey considers the YPG a terror organisation linked to a Kurdish insurgency at home and has declared the military offensive, launched Wednesday, necessary for national security.