BREAKING: Kremlin confirms that Russian airstrikes killed Turkish soldiers in Syria

Syrian Army attacks and sweeps Daesh positions near Al-Bab ~ [East of Aleppo province]

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09/02/2017

Following the Turkish military accusing the Syrian air force of striking its soldiers in the Al-Bab Plateau of east Aleppo yesterday, the Kremlin has announced that it was responsible for the accidental attack.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Sputnik that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayiip Erdogan over an accidental Russian airstrike that had killed Turkish soldiers in Syria.

In addition to the announcement by Peskov, the Russian Defense Ministry also confirmed the accidental strike against the Turkish forces.

The strike resulted in the death of three Turkish soldiers and a further 11 wounded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to his Turkish counterpart Erdogan, the Kremlin said earlier.

Despite this set back, they both agreed to continue their operations against ISIS and other extremist groups in Syria.

Read more

Turkish, Russian Foreign Ministers Discuss Syria During Phone Conversation

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Recip Erdogan on Thursday agreed to bolster military coordination in Syria, the Kremlin said, after a Russian strike killed three Turkish soldiers.

“Putin expressed condolences over the tragic incident that caused the death of several Turkish servicemen in the area of the town of Al-Bab,” the Kremlin said after the two leaders spoke by phone.

“It was agreed to enhance military coordination in the course of the operation in Syria against ISIL fighters and other extremist organizations,” the statement said.

The Kremlin statement — which came before Turkey announced the deadly incident — did not mention explicitly that Russian firepower was to blame.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the Russian strike took place on Thursday morning and said that it was due to a “lack of agreement of coordinates during strikes by the Russian air force.”

Russia’s defense ministry said that Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov also called his Turkish counterpart to offer condolences over the “accidental” strike by a Russian jet.

“Russian jets were carrying out a military mission to destroy ISIL positions in the area of Al-Bab,” a defense ministry statement said.

The two military chiefs “agreed on closer coordination of joint actions and also the exchange of information about the situation on the ground,” it said.

Source: AFP

Syrian Army attacks and sweeps Daesh positions near Al-Bab ~ [East of Aleppo province]

The advance of the Syrian army on Daesh positions in the east of Aleppo province caught the terrorists by surprise. Sputnik Arabic reports that the Syrian infantry successfully overcame three barrier boundaries which were put up by Daesh on the outskirts of al-Bab. ~ Read more

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