Russian air strike accidentally kills three Turkish soldiers

Putin expresses condolences to Erdogan after attack on Islamic State goes wrong in Syria

Turkey-backed-opposition fighters advance in an armoured personnel carrier on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of al-Bab. Photograph: Saleh Abo Ghaloun/AFP/Getty Images
Turkey-backed-opposition fighters advance in an armoured personnel carrier on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of al-Bab. Photograph: Saleh Abo Ghaloun/AFP/Getty Images

The Kremlin confirmed on Thursday that Russian war planes had accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers in an air strike that went wrong in northern Syria, the RIA news agency reported.

Turkey’s military said earlier on Thursday that the Russian strikes had accidentally killed three of its soldiers and wounded 11 others in an operation against Islamic State, also known as Isis.

President Vladimir Putin had expressed his condolences to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call, the Kremlin said.

It said in a statement that the incident had taken place near the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab in northern Syria.

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Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters resumed a major offensive inside the city on Thursday, a day after they broke through Islamic State defences in its remaining stronghold in Aleppo province.

Reuters