2017 Russian Air Force Al-Bab incident

2017 Russian Air Force Al-Bab incident
Part of the Turkish military intervention in Syria, and the Russian military intervention in Syria
A Tupolev Tu-22M (similar to the aircraft involved in the incident)
Date 08:40 UTC, 9 February 2017 Location al-Bab, Syria 36°13′16″N37°18′37″E / 36.2211°N 37.3104°E / 36.2211; 37.3104
Belligerents
Russian Air Force	Turkish Land Forces
Strength
1 Tu-22M bomber	Unknown
Casualties and losses
	3 Turkish soldiers killed 11 injured

The 2017 Russian Air Force Al-Bab incident occurred when three Turkish soldiers were killed and 11 injured after a Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-22M attacked Turkish soldiers accidentally at al-Bab, Syria. ^[1]

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". ^{[2] [3]} 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. ^[4]

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. ^[5]

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. ^[6] “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. ^[7]

See also

• 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
• 2020 Balyun airstrikes

• Russia–Turkey relations

References

1. Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Daren Butler (2017-02-10). "Russian bombing mistake kills three Turkish soldiers in Syria". The Sydney Morning Herald.
2. "Russian air strike kills Turkish soldiers". BBC News. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
3. "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.
4. "Turkey denies Syria air strike 'mistake'". BBC News. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
5. Ellis, Ralph (2017-02-09). "Russian airstrike mistakenly kills 3 Turkish soldiers in Syria". CNN. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
6. "MHP head Bahçeli slams Russian statement on Turkey over 'friendly fire' in Syria". Hurriyet Daily News. 2017-02-12.
7. "Kılıçdaroğlu says Russia should do more than extend condolences". turkishminute.com. 2017-02-09.