MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. /TASS/. Three civilians were killed and 12 more were wounded during an attack on a Turkish military convoy in Syria’s Idlib, the Turkish national defense ministry said on Monday.

"Our convoy heading for observation station number 9 was came under an air strike. Three civilians were killed, 12 more were wounded," the ministry said, adding that these people had happened to be in the vicinity.

According to the ministry, the motor convoy was dispatched to the observation station in Idlib in the small hours on Monday to ensure security along supplies routes and at the site, "to prevent civilian deaths and reduce tensions between the conflicting parties."

The ministry also said it had notified Russia about the convoy in advance. "We strongly condemn this attack staged by the [Syrian President Bashar Assad] regime in violation of our agreements and accords with Russia. We reserve the sovereign right to defense and expect measures to be taken swiftly to prevent such incidents," the ministry stressed.

According to Turkey’s NTV television channel, the convoy of Turkish armored vehicles was dispatched from observation station number 7 in Idlib to reinforce observation station number 9, which was in the center of the Syrian government army’s offensive. The strike was delivered by government troops at the convoy, with some of the shells exploding near vehicles. The convoy stopped to prevent losses and drones were sent to the incident site.