Russia jet misses ISIS, kills Turkey troops

Istanbul: 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.

The plane had been seeking to hit targets of Islamic State (IS) jihadists but “by accident three of our heroic soldiers were martyred when a building was bombed where our units were,” it said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had already reached out to Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express his “sadness and condolences.”

“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. It said that of the 11 injured, one was badly wounded.

In Moscow, the Kremlin said Mr Putin had offered Erdogan his condolences  and that the leaders had “agreed to enhance military coordination” going forward in the fight against IS in Syria.

Turkey on August 24 began an unprecedented campaign inside Syria against IS and Kurdish militia which initially made rapid progress but has become mired in a deadly fight for the IS held town of Al-Bab since December.

While Turkey gave no details over the location of the deadly incident, Moscow said that it took place around Al-Bab where Russian forces have also been conducting air strikes.

Before Thursday’s casualties were reported, the Dogan news agency  said 66 Turkish soldiers have now been killed in the Syria operation since it began in August.