NEW YORK: Malcolm Turnbull has acknowledged Australian warplanes were part of an ill-directed airstrike that went wrong in Syria on Saturday killing a claimed 60 Syrian government troops instead of the intended Islamic State fighters, while also threatening a delicate ceasefire in that war-torn country.

But though a circumspect Mr Turnbull expressed regret for the deaths during the action in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, he also hinted that there were blatant "contradictions" behind Russia's UN grandstanding on the bungled sorties by US-led coalition countries.

"I can confirm that Australian aircraft were involved in the sortie that's been the subject of the recent news reporting," he said during a Central Park press conference ahead of this week's UN General Assembly and global refugee talks.

"I can say that as soon as the coalition commanders were advised by the Russian command in the region that Syrian forces had been affected, that sortie was discontinued.