Explosion hits Turkey-Russia joint patrol in Syria's Idlib, no injuries

An explosion hit the 17th Turkey-Russia joint patrol in Syria's Idlib, causing no casualties, Turkey's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

"The 17th joint land patrol was conducted in Idlib province on Tuesday to maintain the Turkish-Russian ceasefire agreement in Syria. A patrol vehicle was lightly damaged due to detonation of an unidentified explosive and taken to a safe location," the ministry tweeted.

"No personnel was harmed in the incident," said the ministry, noting that the joint patrols will continue with determination within the scope of the agreement.

On March 5, Turkey and Russia sealed a deal to maintain a temporary cease-fire for "all military actions along the line of contact in the Idlib de-escalation area" and envisaged the establishment of a security corridor six km to the north and six km to the south of the M4 highway, after nearly 60 Turkish soldiers were killed in escalated tensions between the Syrian and Turkish troops in the region.

The key M4 highway, located about 30 km away from the southern border of Turkey, links Aleppo to Latakia in Syria. The joint Turkish-Russian patrols began on March 15 along the M4 highway as part of the deal.