World Bulletin / News Desk

 The Turkish military issued Friday a new statement on the Russian airstrikes that "accidentally" martyred three Turkish soldiers in northern Syria's Al-Bab region on Thursday. 

"Our troops hit [by the Russian jets] on Feb. 9 have been deployed in the same position for approximately 10 days," the Turkish General Staff said in a statement published on its website. 

The statement added that the soldiers' coordinates had been shared with the Russian military officials at the Hmeymim air base in Syria, as well as the Russian military attache in Ankara on Wednesday, a day before the incident. 

The bombing of a building used by Turkish troops involved in the assault on the Daesh-held town of Al-Bab in northern Syria left 11 other soldiers injured on Thursday.

Following the bombing, Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to offer his condolences over the "tragic" incident.

On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Turkey was investigating the "unfortunate accident". 

"According to initial information we received, it is a total accident but how it happened and how the coordination was miscalculated will be clarified. It seems that much closer coordination measures are needed in the fight there," he said. 

 Operation Euphrates Shield, which involves Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish forces, was launched last August to secure Turkey’s border with Syria against terrorists and support opposition forces.

Since November, the operation has focused on taking Al-Bab, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the Turkish border.