Syrian forces ride on military vehicles as they head to Latakia, after fighters linked to Syria's ousted leader Bashar al-Assad mounted a deadly attack on government forces on Thursday
Credit: Reuters Photo
Syria has imposed a curfew in the northwestern port town of Latakia and the port city of Tartous after fierce clashes between fighters linked to Syria's ousted leader Bashar al-Assad and government forces, the state news agency said early on Friday.
At least 13 members of Syria's security forces were killed on Thursday in clashes with militants linked to Bashar al-Assad's ousted regime, a Syrian broadcaster reported, some of the worst violence the Islamist-led government has faced since toppling him in December.
Syria TV, which is aligned with the new Damascus administration, said the clashes were continuing in the Jableh region, part of the coastal area which forms the heartland of the Alawite minority sect to which the Assad family belongs.
The coastal region has emerged as one of the main security challenges for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa as his government works to consolidate control.
Syria's state news agency SANA, citing a defence ministry source, said "remnants of Assad's militias" had attacked in several areas in a unified way. Reinforcements were on their way to the Jableh area to support security forces, it said.
Earlier this week, two members of the defence ministry were killed in the city of Latakia by groups identified by state media as Assad militia remnants.