DAMASCUS, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdish fighters shot down a Turkish military helicopter in the Kurdish-controlled Afrin enclave in northern Syria on Saturday, Kurdish activists said.

The Turkish helicopter was targeted over the town of Rajo northwest of Afrin in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo province.

The state news agency SANA also reported the downing of the Turkish helicopter in Afrin.

Since Jan. 20, Turkish troops, together with allied Syrian rebels, have been conducting a cross-border military operation in a bid to drive the Kurdish militiamen out of Afrin.

The Turkish military campaign led to the displacement of 15,000 civilians from the countryside of Afrin to safer areas in that enclave.