“On January 22, the formation of a terrorist group ... operating in the province of Idlib, attacked government troops three times,” RIA Novosti quoted the head of the Russian center for reconciliation in Syria, Yuri Borenkov.

All three attacks were repelled.

Borenkov added that the militants continue to shell the western suburbs of Aleppo, over the past 24 hours 12 civilians were killed and 20 wounded, including women and children.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to help stop the attacks in the de-escalation zone in Syrian Idlib.