Gunmen loyal to Syria's Bashar al-Assad killed 16 security personnel on Thursday, a war monitor said, in attacks it described as the "most violent" since the longtime president's ouster.
The fighting took place in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, the heartland of the ousted president's Alawite minority, who were considered bastions of support during his rule.
The death toll "following attacks and ambushes by gunmen loyal to Assad in the town of Jableh and its surrounding areas increased to 16 members of the security forces," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that the majority of the dead were from the former rebel bastion of Idlib.
It said they were "the most violent attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled."
At least three of the gunmen in Jableh were killed, said the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.
The province's security director had earlier said that Syrian forces were clashing with gunmen loyal to an Assad-era special forces commander in another village in Latakia after authorities reportedly launched helicopter strikes.
"The armed groups that our security forces were clashing with in the Latakia countryside were affiliated with the war criminal Suhail al-Hassan, who committed the most heinous massacres against the Syrian people," the security director told state news agency SANA.
Nicknamed "The Tiger," Hassan led the country's special forces and was frequently described as Assad's "favorite soldier." He was responsible for key advances by the Assad government in 2015.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported "strikes launched by Syrian helicopters on armed men in the village of Beit Ana and the surrounding forests, coinciding with artillery strikes on a neighboring village."
SANA reported that militias loyal to the ousted president had opened fire on "members and equipment of the defense ministry" near the village, killing one security force member and wounding two.
Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that its photographer Riad al-Hussein was wounded in the clashes but that he was doing well.
A defense ministry source later told SANA that large military reinforcements were being deployed to the Jableh area "to support the security forces and restore stability to the area."
Deadly attacks
Alawite leaders later called in a statement on Facebook for "peaceful protests" in response to the air strikes, which they said had targeted "the homes of civilians."
Tensions erupted after residents of Beit Ana, the birthplace of Suhail al-Hassan, prevented security forces from arresting a person wanted for trading arms, the Observatory said.
Security forces subsequently launched a campaign in the area, resulting in clashes with gunmen, it added.
The Observatory said it could not verify the identity or affiliation of the gunmen.
Later on Thursday, large groups of young men, some bearing arms, gathered in Idlib in support of the security forces fighting in Latakia, the Observatory said.
Messages broadcast over the loudspeakers of mosques called for "jihad" against the gunmen, it added.
The tensions erupted after at least four civilians were killed during a security operation in the city of Latakia, the monitor said on Wednesday.
Security forces launched the campaign in the Daatour neighborhood on Tuesday after an ambush by "members of the remnants of Assad militias" killed two security personnel, state media reported.
Islamist rebels led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham launched a lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8.
The country's new security forces have since launched extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions.
Residents and organizations have reported violations during those campaigns, including the seizing of homes, field executions, and kidnappings.
Syria's new authorities have described the violations as "isolated incidents" and vowed to pursue those responsible.
With AFP
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