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.