A Syrian source of security told Al Jazeera that 15 members of security staff had been killed in “various armed ambuses”.
Armed men faithful to the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad killed at least 15 members of security personnel in ambushes in the coastal province of Latakia, a security source in Al Jazeera said.
The attacks took place Thursday near the city of Jableh in the Latakia campaign, part of the coastal area which forms the heart of the Alaounite minority sect to which the al-Assad family belongs.
A Syrian source of security told Al Jazeera to the Arab network that 15 members of security personnel had been killed in “different armed ambushes”.
“The Syrian state will impose its authority on all groups outside the law and will not threaten security,” said the source.
Damascus report, Al Jazeera’s resul Serdar, said tensions were raised after the attacks.
“Since the fall of the Assad regime three months ago, this is perhaps one of the biggest security challenges that the new government has faced,” he said.
The central government had sent reinforcements including “dozens and dozens of military vehicles” to the city of Latakia of several governors, including Hama, Homs and Idlib, he said.
Shortly after the attack, a video was published by a commander of the Assad era, saying that a resistance group called “Coastal Shield Regiment” had been trained against the new government, said Serdar.
The Director of Security of the Latakia Province had previously declared to the Syrian press agency for the Sana State that the security forces compete in the Latakia campaign with armed groups loyal to the special forces commander of the Assad Suhail Al-Hassan era.
Latakia’s security forces have announced that the situation was now under control and that several attackers had been killed, with “many others captured,” said Serdar. A curfew was also announced in the coastal city of Tartous.
The Mediterranean coastal regions of Syria have become one of the main security challenges for acting president Ahmed al-Sharaa while his government is working to consolidate the country’s control.
