| Conflict: | 2017 Russian Air Force Al-Bab incident |
| Partof: | the Turkish military intervention in Syria, and the Russian military intervention in Syria |
| Date: | 08:40 UTC, 9 February 2017 |
| Place: | al-Bab, Syria |
| Coordinates: | 36.2211°N 37.3104°W |
| Combatant1: | Russian Armed Forces |
| Combatant2: | Turkish Armed Forces |
| Commander1: | Viktor Bondarev |
| Commander2: | Zekai Aksakallı |
| Units1: | |
| Units2: | |
| Strength1: | 1 Tu-22M bomber |
| Casualties2: | 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]
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]
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]