Turkish forces shelled the Syrian town of Afrin heavily overnight and killed at least 18 people, and the Kurdish YPG fighters were waging battles with Turkish and allied forces trying to storm the town, a YPG spokesman said.

Brusk Hasakeh, the YPG spokesman in Afrin, said the Turkish forces and their Syrian militia allies were trying to storm Afrin from the north. "They are shelling in order to storm (Afrin)," Hasakeh said by phone. He said the YPG and its all-female affiliate, the YPJ, were waging battles with the attacking forces.