President Vladimir Putin has sent condolences after a Russian air strike accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers in northern Syria.
The strike hit a building near the town of al-Bab, believing it to contain Islamic State (IS) fighters rather than Turkish troops, Turkey’s military said.
Eleven others were wounded in the so-called friendly fire incident.
They were supporting Syrian rebels who are locked in a fierce battle to try to capture al-Bab from IS fighters.
Russia and Turkey, who back opposing sides in the Syrian war, have been jointly conducting air strikes on IS in the town in recent weeks.
The Russian aircraft had been planning to hit IS targets but “by accident three of our soldiers were martyred when a building was bombed where our units were,” Turkey’s military said.
The Kremlin has issued a statement (in Russian) saying President Putin had, in a telephone call with his Turkish counterpart, “expressed condolences over a tragic incident which resulted in the deaths of several Turkish troops in the al-Bab area”.
The incident comes after a warming of relations between the two countries, which had previously been strained after Turkey downed a Russian jet near the Syrian border two years ago.
Earlier on Thursday, Turkish-backed rebel fighters managed to capture the western outskirts of al-Bab, which lies about 30km (20 miles) south of Turkey. Turkish media say 10 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the fighting in recent days.
The Dogan news agency says 66 Turkish troops have been killed in Syria since Turkey began its operations there last August to drive out IS, as well as stop the advance of the Kurdish YPG militia – which Turkey considers a terror organisation
The Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been battling IS for al-Bab since late 2016.
Syrian government forces, meanwhile, are also closing in on IS from the south, where fierce fighting is reported.
Reports suggest the rebels and government forces have reached an accommodation over al-Bab, orchestrated by Syria’s key alley, Russia.
The two sides are now within 3km of each other on opposite sides of the city.
BBC