Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has expressed his condolences to his Turkish counterpart in a telephone conversation.

Russian, Turkish jets strike IS in Syria https://t.co/9MVDuymnRx pic.twitter.com/wL5aHEVg63

— Times of lsIamabad (@TimesofIslambad) 27 gennaio 2017

Eleven others were wounded in the attack.

Earlier five Turkish soldiers died in clashes with ISIL fighters

The casualties are in addition to the five killed on Wednesday.

It comes as the bloody battle for the ISIL held al-Bab intensifies.

Reports suggest that al-Bab is surrounded on all sides and ISIL fighters have been driven into city centre.

#Syria: #Russia's #Putin gives condolences to #Turkey's #Erdogan over Russian strikes killing 3 Turkish troops https://t.co/I4g0WfO5vA pic.twitter.com/GJHA8gBHwB

— EA WorldView (@EA_WorldView) 9 febbraio 2017

The push for al-Bab comes as Turkey attempts to convince the Trump administration that Ankara is a reliable ally after President Obama supported Kurdish groups in the fight against ISIL.

New CIA head Mike Pompeo is currently on a visit to Turkey. (Euronews)