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Militants Shell Towns in 3 Provinces of Syria, Russian Military Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Militants from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group have conducted numerous attacks in the Syrian provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, and Latakia, Rear Admiral Oleg Zhuravlev, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's centre for Syrian reconciliation, said on Saturday.
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"We have registered attacks on the settlement of Jubas, one attack on the settlement of Qwqaba, one attack on Mardih, one attack on Kafer-Battih and one attack on Maaret-Mouhos in the Idlib province, one attack on Urum-es-Sougra, one attack on Herbet-Jezraya and one attack on Kafer-Taala in the Aleppo province, one attack on Salmain in the Latakia province from the positions of Jabhat al-Nusra* terrorist organization", Zhuravlev said.

He noted that there had not been any confirmed attacks by the armed groups controlled by Turkey.

Russian planes have carried out patrols along a fixed route in northern Syria over the past day.

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.

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