3 Turkish soldiers accidentally killed in Russian airstrike in Syria, Moscow confirms, Putin apologizes (Update: Turkey accepts bad coordinates given)

RT
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 15:45 UTC

© Igor Kovalenko / Sputnik

Russian airstrikes have accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers and injured 11 others in northern Syria, Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed.

A Russian warplane hit a building housing Turkish soldiers in Al-Bab at 8:40 am local time, the Hurriyet Daily reports citing Ankara's statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences over the accidental loss of life in the airstrike, in a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

The Russian leader stressed that the accident occurred due to the non-coordination during airstrikes against terrorist targets, Peskov said.

The head of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, also talked on the phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, expressing his condolences over the incident.

The warplanes were targeting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) sites in the al-Bab area, Gerasimov said in a statement.

Gerasimov and Akar agreed to increase cooperation and information exchange between the Russian and Turkish forces on the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Turkish General Staff says that Moscow and Ankara will carry out a joint investigation into the airstrike.

On November 2015, the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber, which was taking part in Moscow's anti-terrorist operation in Syria.

The two Russian pilots were forced to eject into terrorist-held areas, with the captain being killed by militant fire as he was descending.

Russia imposed a wave of economic sanctions against Turkey in response to the incident, with the countries requiring over a year to mend relations.

Comment: Turkey accepts apology: Turkey Satisfied With Russia's Response After Airstrike Incident

Turkey has positively assessed Russia's constructive position in connection with the incident in northern Syria, when an accidental Russian airstrike led to the death of three Turkish servicemen, a high-ranking Turkish military source in Ankara told Sputnik.

"Talks have been held with Russian colleagues with the coordination of the administration of our president and prime minister. The death of our servicemen caused us great grief, we are praying for the recovery of our wounded comrades. However, the actions and the constructive position of Russian officials right after the incident were met positively by us," the source said.

A military source in Ankara told Sputnik on Thursday that Russia and Turkey would not set up a joint commission to investigate the airstrike incident as the situation was "quite clear."

Update: Russian airstrike which killed Turkish troops in Syria followed Ankara data - Kremlin

The Russian Air Force strike which killed Turkish soldiers in Syria was guided by positioning data provided by Turkey, and there should not have been any Turkish troops in the area, the Kremlin spokesman has said.

Moscow and Ankara agree that the outcome of the airstrike, which killed three Turkish soldiers and injured 11 others in northern Syria on Thursday, was not deliberate and was due to miscommunication on the positioning data, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

"As for the reasons [of this incident], they are unfortunately clear. There's no controversy. The situation is evident: our military was following the data sent by our Turkish partners, and there shouldn't have been any Turkish troops within the limits of these coordinates," the Kremlin spokesman said.

Asked if there was a mistake on the part of Turkish intelligence, Peskov reiterated that there was a "miscommunication in providing the data."

Citing sources in the Russian military command, media outlet Kommersant reported earlier on Friday that the coordinates for the strike had been agreed beforehand by both countries' militaries. The sources also suggested that one of the reasons for the incident could be the uncoordinated relocation of Turkish ground troops into the area.

Update (Feb. 10): Turkey's Deputy PM called the airstrike "entirely unintended", agreeing with Peskov's above statement by adding that it was caused by an "error in coordination". However, the Turkish MOD responded by claiming that Russia knew the Turkish Army's coordinates:

The Turkish General Staff claimed that Russian military had been warned in advance of the presence of Turkish servicemen in the area targeted by the Russian jets in Syria's al-Bab.
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"We must clarify the situation in connection with a statement by Dmitry Peskov in order to avoid any misinterpretation," the statement said.
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According to the Turkish General Staff's statement, the Turkish soldiers were at the same location at the time of the strike as the day before (on February 8) when the Turkish side informed the Russian side of the precise coordinates following an accidental rocket strike from friendly positions in the Russian zone of responsibility.

"We immediately relayed the coordinates to officials at the Hmeymim center...while the Russian military attache in Ankara was summoned to the General Staff HQ and given the precise coordinates again," the statement said.