Ankara: Turkey and the United States will begin joint patrols in the northern Syrian Manbij area soon after training is completed within the next couple of days, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told state-owned Anadolu news agency on Wednesday.

As agreed by the Nato allies in June, Turkish and US forces have been carrying out patrols in Manbij independent of each other, but have been training in preparation to carry out joint patrols.