Turkish helicopter shot down by Kurdish militia in Syria's Afrin: Erdogan

ISTANBUL - 10 February 2018: A Turkish army helicopter was shot down by Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters near the north Syrian town of Afrin, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

"One of our helicopters was downed just recently," Erdogan said speaking to members of his AK Party (AKP) in Istanbul. "These things will happen, we are in a war... We might lose a helicopter, but they'll pay the price for this."

He did not mention any casualties.

YPG sources separately confirmed the downing of the helicopter, the first officially confirmed destruction of a Turkish aircraft over Syria during the country's long-running civil war.

Ankara launched an air and ground offensive last month against Kurdish fighters in Syria's Afrin region on its border, opening a new front in the multi-sided Syrian war.