ANKARA: Two Turkish soldiers were killed Saturday and three others injured in an attack in the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib, the Turkish defence ministry said.

The attackers targeted "a unit returning from a patrol", the ministry said, without giving details on the type of assault. An AFP reporter on the scene said it was a bomb blast on the Idlib-Bennish road. Idlib is home to the last major jihadist and rebel stronghold in northwest Syria.

After several successive offensives by government forces, a ceasefire was negotiated with the Syrian regime, but some groups have rejected this agreement. The truce, brokered by neighbouring Turkey - which backs some rebel groups - and Syrian regime ally Russia, has largely been in force since March 2020, despite sporadic clashes.