Turkey's military says it has retaliated against fire into Turkey from across the border in a Kurdish-controlled enclave in northwest Syria.

A brief military statement said Saturday the military responded to two days of "harassment" by attacking refugee and shelters in the enclave of Afrin allegedly belonging to a Syrian Kurdish militia group that Turkey considers to be a "terror" organization. The military did not provide details.

Turkey has vowed to launch a ground operation into Afrin to eradicate the threat from the group it says is an extension of Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey. It has been massing troops and tanks at its border.

Turkey's defense minister said Thursday the offensive into Afrin had "de facto" started, in reference to sporadic Turkish military shelling of the area.