Australia offers condolences over air strike on Syrian troops

The Australian Department of Defense has offered its condolences to the families of Syrian soldiers killed or wounded in a US-led bombing campaign on Saturday, in which Australia participated and Russia said hit Syrian military personnel and vehicles.

Australian aircraft were among the warplanes that struck what were believed to be Daesh State fighting positions around Deir al-Zor in Eastern Syria, ABC news reported.

However, shortly after the bombing started Russian officials advised the multinational Combined Air Operations Center that the targets may have been Syrian military personnel.

The Australian Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that it would fully cooperate with a Coalition review of the incident.

"While Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (also known as ISIL)," the ministry said in a statement.

"Defense offers its condolences to the families of any Syrian personnel killed or wounded in this incident." the statement added.

Source: MENA