TURKEY reiterated calls for a hostile no-fly zone over northern Syria yesterday — after bombing Islamic State (Isis) and Kurdish militia-held towns on Sunday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed to the outgoing US government to adopt the policy, one that defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton admitted would mean outright war with Syria and its allies Russia and Iran.

And Mr Erdogan conflated the question of a no-fly zone against the Syrian air force — now pounding Turkish-backed insurgents in and around Aleppo — with Ankara’s two-month-old invasion of Aleppo province.

Mr Erdogan said: “I hope that in the upcoming process, this will be reassessed, especially by the United States, and positive steps will be taken so that terrorism’s back is broken and Turkey is rid of the threat of terrorism.”

Mr Erdogan criticised his Nato allies’ use of the Kurdish YPG milita — which Ankara regards as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey — as proxies in the fight against Isis.

Neither the YPG nor Isis, both of which Turkey claims to be fighting, have air forces, rendering a no-fly zone pointless.

On Sunday Turkish jets hit the town of Manbij and the villages Yilanli, Qurt Weran and Sheikh Nasir to the west in a bid to stop to stop the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) capturing the key town of alBab.

Ankara’s Free Syrian Army (FSA) proxies claimed to have captured Sheikh Nasir yesterday.

SDF Manbij military council general commander Adnan Abu Amjad urged the US-led coalition bombing Syria to investigate Turkey’s actions, calling it a “terrorist state.”

He repeated claims that the YPG withdrew from Manbij to points east of the river Euphrates.

In Turkey, authorities continued their crackdown on the proKurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which the government claims is a PKK front.

Two more mayors in the majority-Kurdish south-east of the country were detained, the latest in a string of elected officials and journalists, including 10 MPs.

Visiting British Labour MEP Julie Ward was turned away from Silivri prison near Istanbul yesterday when she attempted to visit HDP MP Leyla Birlik, who has reportedly been been placed in solitary confinement on the political prisoners’ wing.

The MEP, Ms Birlik’s assistant, a lawyer and an interpreter were ordered to stay half a mile from the prison until they could prove they had government permission for the visit.

Ms Ward was particularly concerned about Ms Birlik as she suffers from hepatitis B and thyroid cancer.