Russian major general was killed and two servicemen wounded after an improvised explosive device went off near a Russian convoy in eastern Syria on Tuesday, news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying.

The ministry said the device went off while the convoy was returning from a humanitarian operation near the city of Deir Ezzor.

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The statement, released to the Interfax, RIA Novosti and TASS news agencies, said that the three servicemen were wounded in the blast and that a “senior military advisor with the rank of major general” died while being evacuated and provided with medical assistance.

In 2015, Moscow’s military intervention helped keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and started a long, bloody reconquest of territory lost to rebels in the early stages of the war.

In July, three Russian and several Turkish soldiers were wounded in Syria’s restive Idlib province when a joint military patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device.

The Caesar Act, which took effect in mid-June, punishes any country, individual or entity that does business with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Earlier, the Syrian regime and Iranian-backed groups also launched a ground offensive in Aleppo province, a designated de-escalation zone, forcing at least 13,000 more civilians to move toward Turkey’s border.

(With inputs from agency)