Three Turkish soldiers were accidentally killed and 11 wounded on Thursday when a Russian war plane struck a building in Syria where the troops were deployed, the Turkish army said.
Advertisement
Russian Federation and Turkey have backed opposing sides in the war but recently started cooperating over Syria, brokering a truce between government forces and rebels and working together to try to revive peace talks.
There were no details on the suspects’ nationalities, who were allegedly taking orders from high-level IS members in Syria.
The battlespace around al-Bab is complicated, anti-ISIS coalition spokesperson Col. John Dorrian said on Wednesday.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence also expressed condolences for the Turkish casualties in a call with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, in which they discussed cooperation in the fight against terrorism, Yildirim’s office said.
We review key events in Syria, including government airstrikes in Homs killing eight people, mine explosions killing seven in Raqqa and the Turkish-backed operation “Euphrates Shield” advancing into al-Bab.
Turkish commanders gave the green light for a large-scale push into al-Bab after the Syrian army and its allies made rapid gains that brought them to its southern outskirts, another rebel official told Reuters. According to the Turkish General Staff, the incident occurred at about 08:40 local time on Thursday. Both countries have been conducting air strikes in the ISIL-held town. He has no doubts that Turkey will establish control over Al-Bab following the city’s liberation.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the airstrike had killed the Turkish soldiers on Thursday.
Advertisement
A joint Russian, Turkish, and Iranian group was set up in Astana on February 6 to monitor the current ceasefire in Syria.
