On July 7, the Russian Military Police and the Turkish Army conducted a one more extended patrol along the M4 highway in southern Idlib. The patrol started near Saraqib and covered about 66km reaching Bidama in the western countryside of Jisr al-Shughur. This town is a well-known stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked Turkistan Islamic Party. The group is also allied with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda).
Turkey has apparently found at least a partial understanding with al-Qaeda-linked groups in Greater Idlib. This allowed it to facilitate the implementation of joint patrols in the framework of the March agreement with Russia.
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