Militants Shell Town in Syria's Idlib, Russian Military Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Militants from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group have attacked a settlement in the Syrian province of Idlib, Rear Admiral Oleg Zhuravlev, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's centre for Syrian reconciliation, said on Monday.

He noted that no attacks by Turkey-controlled armed groups had been recorded and that Russian military police units had continued patrolling several routes in the provinces of Aleppo and Hasakah.

"At the same time, we have registered one attack on the settlement of Maaret Moukhos in the Idlib province from the positions of Jabhat al-Nusra* terrorist organization", Zhuravlev said.

On 5 March, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed on a ceasefire in Idlib, which started at midnight. The sides also agreed to create a security corridor six kilometres (3.7 miles) north and south of the M4 highway in Syria, which connects the provinces of Latakia and Aleppo. Under the ceasefire agreement, Moscow and Ankara conduct joint patrols along the M4 highway, which is currently controlled by militants.

Militants remain in control of a small pocket of the Idlib province in northwest Syria.

*Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.