The Russian military was conducting a joint patrol with Turkish forces along the Aleppo-Latakia Highway (M-4 Highway) in Idlib province, during the early morning hours of Tuesday, when it was attacked by militants.

The Turkish or Russian Defense Ministries did not report any casualties.

This is the 26th joint patrol that has been conducted in northwest Syria by Turkish and Russian forces since they came to an agreement earlier this spring. 

“A vehicle in the convoy has been slightly damaged due to the explosion that took place during the 26th joint ground patrol on the M4 highway in Idlib within the scope of the March 5 agreement between Turkey and Russia,” the Turkish Defense Ministry released in a statement.

Turkish-led militias posted a photo of the Russian military convoy after it came under attack. The video shows one of the vehicles on top of a median along the Aleppo-Latakia Highway. Another video showed a damaged armored vehicle being towed away from the scene. 

 

Turkey and Russia came to an agreement in early March to limit military operations in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province in an effort to halt the massive flow of Syrian refugees streaming to Turkey to avoid the fighting. Nearly one million people have been displaced from the region. Turkey already hosts more than 3.7 million refugees from Syria. 

The agreement came despite the two countries backing opposing factions in the decade-long civil war.