Turkish army blames Syria regime for deadly air strike

The Turkish army yesterday blamed the Syrian regime for an air strike in northern Syria that killed three soldiers, the first time it has accused Damascus of killing its soldiers since launching its three-month military incursion.

The incident came on the first anniversary of the shooting down of a Russian military jet over the Syrian border by the Turkish air force.

That led to a seven-month crisis in relations between Turkey and Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that has provided military support to Damascus.

The army said the strike took place at 3:30 am (0030 GMT) without indicating where in Syria, although local media said it took place in the Al Bab region.

"In the air strike assessed to have been by Syrian regime forces, three of our heroic soldiers were killed and 10 soldiers wounded, one seriously," the armed forces said in a statement on its website.

Turkish media reported earlier that the attack was by Islamic State (IS) jihadists.

The prime ministry slapped a broadcasting ban on coverage of the strike an hour after the military's statement, Turkey's broadcast watchdog said on its website.

The Turkish military launched an operation -- dubbed "Euphrates Shield" -- with tanks and air power in August to support Syrian opposition fighters seeking to retake territory from IS in northern Syria.

The Ankara-backed rebels comprise several brigades rather than one organised force, according to experts.

Hundreds of Turkish soldiers are taking part in the operation, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week was pushing forward with its aim of taking Al Bab from IS.

The operation has also targeted Syrian Kurdish militia, whom Turkey views as linked to its outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has staged an insurgency in Turkey since 1984.

The PKK is proscribed as a terror group by Washington and Brussels but not by the United Nations.