 As soon as Malik rejoined the army, Abu Ubaidah marched westwards to capture Antioch, with Khalid ibn Walid leading the advance guard with his Mobile guard.The army marched westward directly from Aleppo via Harim and approached Antioch from the east.Twenty kilometers (12 mi) from the city, near modern-day "Mahruba", a bridge of iron spanned the River Orontes.