TURKEY’S armed forces announced the capture of a strategically important mountain in the north-eastern corridor of Syria’s Afrin canton today.

The claim was echoed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and, if true, represents an important advance by the invasion force in the second week of its offensive.

Jabal Barsaya separates the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkish-occupied town of Azaz and the mountain’s capture would give Ankara’s forces artillery-fire control over other areas of Afrin.

They have been trying to take it since their offensive began on January 20 but have met stiff resistance.

Turkish troops briefly seized the mountain last week but were dislodged hours later by the Kurds’ People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia.

The YPG accused the Turkish air force yesterday of dropping napalm on its fighters defending Jabal Barsaya, adding that air strikes had also been directed at the April 17 dam which provides water and electricity to the northern Aleppo enclave.

President Erdogan repeated his intention to “push on to Manbij,” telling supporters: "The terrorists in Afrin and Manbij cannot run from the painful end that awaits them.”

Al-Qaida-linked Hetesh, known previously as Jabhat al-Nusra, confirmed today that its forces were operating, in alliance with the Turkish army, in mountainous countryside near the town of Dart Izza against the southernmost flank of Kurdish forces.

It claimed today to have “restored” its control of two positions near the town of Qalaat Samaan, north of Dart Izza, that were conquered by Kurdish forces on January 23.