Turkish General Staff: Russia knew about location of Turkish troops before airstrike
The General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces claimed that Russia had been warned about the presence of the Turkish troops in northern Syria prior to the incident in which Russian aircraft bombed a location held by Turkish forces, killing 3 soldiers, Haber Turk reported.
The General Staff reported that the Turkish soldiers had been at the location for 10 days, and Turkey had allegedly provided the Russian military attaché with coordinates of the location.
However, the Russian Defense Ministry said the target had been agreed to by both countries, and the Turkish soldiers were to have cleared the area.
The incident occurred on the morning of February 9th in the Syrian town of al-Bab. Three Turkish soldiers were killed, and 11 were injured.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the incident.
Al-Bab is controlled by the so-called Islamic State. The territory to the south is controlled by the Syrian military, with support from Russia, and the area to the north is controlled by Syrian rebels and Turkish troops.