Roadside bomb hits Russian-Turkish patrol in Syria, injuries reported

Several Turkish and Russian soldiers have been wounded after a roadside bomb planted by terrorists in Syria went off near a joint Moscow-Ankara patrol in the West Asian country’s northwestern province of Idlib.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the explosion occurred near the town of Ariha on Tuesday, injuring three Russian soldiers and an unspecified number of Turkish soldiers.

“Three Russian servicemen were slightly injured. There are wounded among the crew of the Turkish armored car. All victims were promptly evacuated from the area,” said the ministry.

Russia called off the patrol following the blast that damaged one Russian and one Turkish armored personnel carrier, it said.

The ministry said that Russia was evacuating its equipment from the area and moving its troops to the Hmeimim airbase in western coastal province of Latakia, where some of them would receive medical care.

Two Turkish sources, however, said there were no Turkish casualties in the attack.

On March 5, Russia and Turkey, which support opposite sides in the Syrian conflict, came to an agreement on a ceasefire regime in Idlib, where a Turkish aggression had risked the breakout of a war.

According to the agreement, joint Russian-Turkish patrols will secure a six-kilometer-wide corridor along the M4 highway connecting the two government-held provinces of Latakia and Aleppo.

The ceasefire also consolidates Syrian control over the M5 highway, which links the capital to the major cities of Hama, Homs, and Aleppo.

SS