BREAKING NEWS

Italy summons Turkish ambassador to protest over Syria operation

ROME - The Italian foreign ministry has summoned Turkey's ambassador to protest over Ankara's decision to send troops into northern Syria to attack a Kurdish militia, a ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said earlier that Turkey's offensive was "unacceptable" and called for an immediate end to the fighting.

Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies attacked the Kurdish militia in northeast Syria on Wednesday, pounding them with air strikes and artillery before starting a cross-border ground operation that could transform an eight-year-old war.