BREAKING NEWS

U.N. Security Council to discuss Syria after Turkey takes military action

The United Nations Security Council will meet on Syria behind closed-doors on Thursday, diplomats said, after Turkey launched a military operation against Kurdish fighters in the northeast of the country.

The discussion of the situation in Syria by the 15-member Security Council was requested by the five European members, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland, diplomats said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, announcing the start of the military action on Wednesday, said the aim was to eliminate what he called a "terror corridor" on Turkey's southern border.

The move came just days after U.S. troops pulled back from the area.