Syrian security sources told Al Jazeera that 15 security guards were killed in “various armed ambushings.”
The shooters loyal to abdicated Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad killed at least 15 security guards in an ambush in the coastal state of Latakia, security sources told Al Jazeera.
The attack took place on Thursday near a rural town in Latakia, part of the coastal region that forms the center of the Alawian minority to which the Al Assad family belongs.
A Syrian security source told the Al-Jazeira Arabic network that 15 security officers were killed in “various armed ambushings.”
“The Syrian state imposes its authority on all prohibitive groups and does not allow security to be threatened,” the source said.
A report from Damascus, Al Jazeera’s resultsul serdar said tensions have risen after the attack.
“This is probably one of the biggest security challenges facing the new government since the Assad regime fell three months ago,” he said.
The central government sent reinforcements made up of “dozens and dozens of military vehicles” to the city of Latakia from several governors, including Hama, Homs and Idlib.
Shortly after the attack, a video was released by the Assad-era commander, saying a resistance group called the “Coastal Shield Regiment” was formed against the new government, Seldar said.
The security chief of Latakia previously told Syrian news agency Sana that security forces were in conflict with armed groups loyal to Assad-era Special Forces Commander Suhail al-Hassan.
Latakia security forces have announced that the situation is currently under control and that some of the attackers have been killed in “more captures,” Serdar said. A curfew has also been announced in the coastal city of Tartous.
Syria’s Mediterranean coastal region has emerged as one of the major security challenges of interim president Ahmed Arshara as his government works to consolidate the country’s control.
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