Syria: Pro-Assad forces kill 14 police personnel

Forces loyal to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed 14 police members and wounded 10 others, according to the caretaker government, as the country experiences its worst violence since the autocrat's toppling early this month.

Several deadly incidents in recent days underscore the fragile security situation in Syria following the downfall of Assad's long-standing regime. The de facto ruling group, an Islamist organization called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has pledged to restore order and protect all ethnic and religious sects. Its task is complicated by the existence of many different armed groups across the war-ravaged nation.

HTS's interior minister said on Wednesday the assailants ambushed the victims in the area of Tartus near the Mediterranean coast, the heartland of Assad's regime.


Protests broke out earlier in the day when members of the Alawite minority group, from which Assad hails, took to the streets in Tartus, Homs, Latakia and Jableh.

They were angered by a video showing an Alawite shrine in Aleppo being set alight.