2017 Russian Air Force Al-Bab Incident
Strike
A Tupolev Tu-22M flying a strike mission against a building in al-Bab, Syria suspected of containing Islamic State fighters, dropped a bomb on a Turkish army position. The bombing killed 3 Turkish troops and injured 11 others. Turkish military officials called the strike "accidental" and an incident of "friendly fire". Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said that the pilots had "guided by co-ordinates" given to them by Turkish personnel and that, "there should not have been Turkish troops at those co-ordinates." This charge was denied by Turkish officials.
Aftermath
The Turkish General Staff announced that a Russian war plane targeted Turkish soldiers by accident. After the Russian Government confirmed the action, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and expressed his regret.
Reactions
Turkey - Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli on February 12 slammed a Russian statement on the "friendly fire" in Syria's al-Bab on February 10 that led to the deaths of three Turkish soldiers, describing it as a shame. “The issue is so important that it cannot be dodged with a condolence message,” said Republican People's Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in a post on Twitter over the developments in Syria.
See also
References
- ^ Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Daren Butler (2017-02-10). "Russian bombing mistake kills three Turkish soldiers in Syria". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Russian air strike kills Turkish soldiers". BBC News. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
- ^ "Three Turkish soldiers killed by Russian military jet in Syria air strike". The Independent. 2017-02-09. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
- ^ "Turkey denies Syria air strike 'mistake'". BBC News. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
- ^ Ellis, Ralph (2017-02-09). "Russian airstrike mistakenly kills 3 Turkish soldiers in Syria". CNN. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
- ^ "MHP head Bahçeli slams Russian statement on Turkey over 'friendly fire' in Syria". Hurriyet Daily News. 2017-02-12.
- ^ "Kılıçdaroğlu says Russia should do more than extend condolences". turkishminute.com. 2017-02-09.
