Russia airstrikes kill 3 Turkish soldiers in Syria

A Russian warplane 'mistakenly' hit Turkish soldiers in Syria’s al-Bab, killing three and injuring 11, the Turkish Armed Forces has announced
Thursday, 09 February 2017 18:05

Russian airstrikes "accidentally" killed three Turkish soldiers and wounded 11 others during an operation against Islamic State in northern Syria on Thursday morning, Turkish General Staff said in a statement.

"Today, around 08.40, during airstrikes against IS targets [in Syria], Russian combat planes accidentally hit a building hosting Turkish servicemen taking part in Euphrates Shield operation," said the statement.

"Russian officials have said that the incident was an accident and have passed on their sadness and condolences," the army said, adding an investigation is being carried out by both sides. But a high-ranking Turkish military source told Sputnik news agency, Turkey and Russia are not planning to set up a joint commission to investigate the airstrike. "As far as I am concerned, there are no plans to set up a special commission to investigate this tragedy because the situation is quite clear," the source said.

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had called Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan and expressed his condolences, blaming the misdirected strikes on poor coordination between Moscow and Ankara.

News of the deaths came as Turkey was holding funerals for five Turkish soldiers killed in an IS attack the day before. Before Thursday's casualties were reported, 66 Turkish soldiers have now been killed in the Syria operation since it began in August, mostly in attacks by Islamic State.