Several security personnel wounded in clashes with gunmen in Syria’s Latakia

DAMASCUS/ ISTANBUL

Several Syrian security personnel were injured in clashes with armed fugitives linked to the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad in Latakia province in northwestern Syria on Wednesday, local media reported.

Clashes broke out between internal security forces and remnants of the former regime in the village of Baabda, in the rural outskirts of Jableh in Latakia, the state-run Alikhbaria TV reported, without providing further details.

The state news agency SANA, citing an unnamed security source, said the clashes erupted between security forces and wanted fugitives outside the city of Jableh in the Latakia countryside.

While SANA did not specify casualties, Alikhbaria TV said several security personnel were injured, without giving an exact figure.

The outlet said that three gunmen were killed in the clashes.

The coastal region witnessed days of deadly violence in March, when gunmen loyal to the former regime carried out attacks against security forces. Government forces later regained control of the area following a large-scale operation.

Authorities said that the operation was accompanied by violations, including the killing of civilians and the looting and burning of property carried out by armed groups not affiliated with the government.

Syria’s new administration says it is working to restore security nationwide and to pursue remnants of the Assad regime, accused of fueling instability.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia last December, ending the Ba'ath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. A new transitional administration headed by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January.