Russian military says 3 of its troops wounded in Syria

The Russian military said three of its troops were wounded in an attack by militants in northwestern Syria.

Rear Adm. Vyacheslav Sytnik, the chief of the Russian militarys Reconciliation Center in Syria, said militants in the province of Idlib fired an anti-tank missile at a Russian armoured personnel carrier, wounding three military police officers.

He said the attack happened while the Russian troops were on patrol near Trumba in Idlib and Turkish troops were pulling out of the area.

Russia and Turkey, which have backed opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, negotiated a cease-fire deal for Idlib that envisaged joint patrols and established observation posts to monitor the truce, which has been frequently violated.

Russia is the Syrian governments main military ally, while Turkey has backed the Syrian opposition.

Russia has waged a military operation in Syria since 2015, tipping the balance of power in favour of President Bashar Assad and helping his government reclaim control over most of the country after a devastating civil war.

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