DAMASCUS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the Turkish attack on Syria's Kurdish-held Afrin enclave, denying Turkish claims that Ankara informed Damascus about the attack beforehand, according to state news agency SANA.

The "aggression constitutes the latest step in the Turkish aggressions on the Syrian sovereignty," the ministry said after the Turkish army carried out airstrikes on the Kurdish positions in Afrin.

The ministry said Afrin is a part of the Syrian Arab Republic, urging the international community to take measures to stop the Turkish attack immediately.