Syrian authorities on Thursday reported that fighters loyal to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad had mounted a deadly, well-planned attack on government forces, marking some of the worst violence against the government since Islamist-led rebels seized power.
No fewer than 13 members of the security forces were reportedly killed in the clashes in the coastal region of Jableh.
According to the regional security chief, many members of the security forces were killed and wounded in the attack by remnants of the Assad militias.
The attack was said to have marked a sharp escalation of tensions in the coastal area, which forms the heartland of Assad’s Alawite sect and has become a significant security challenge for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he works to consolidate his control.
Three months since Islamist insurgents led by Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham toppled Assad, his efforts to reunite Syria after 13 years of civil war are said to be facing myriad challenges.
Among them is Israel’s pledge to prevent Damascus from deploying forces into the southwestern region near the Israeli frontier.
Tensions have been particularly acute in the mountainous coastal region, where the Syrian government has deployed many of its security forces and where a security source said Assad-aligned militias had managed to regroup.
The chief of security in Latakia province, Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kunaifati, said the attack on Thursday involved several groups of Assad-aligned militias who targeted security patrols and checkpoints in the Jableh area and surrounding countryside.
