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Two police killed by gunmen in Syria’s Homs province: report

22 October 2011 22:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Two police officers were killed by armed groups’ gunfire in Syria’s central Homs Province, the hotbed of more than seven months of anti-government protests and one of the country’s most volatile areas, the state-run SANA news agency reported SaturdayÃ§ APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The news agency quoted a police source as saying that two police officers were driving a car to work when an armed group took them by surprise and opened fire at them, killing both instantly.

Five army personnel, who were killed by armed groups in Homs and suburbs of the capital Damascus over the past two days, were laid to rest Saturday, according to a SANA report.

Meanwhile, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV cited activists as saying that 13 people were killed Saturday across Syria in clashes with government forces. It said Saturday’s deaths came following a bloody day on Friday, during which about 30 people were killed by security forces in several Syrian cities, an activists group said.

There has been no independent confirmation of the latest deaths.

The central Homs province has been witnessing intense anti- government protests as well as clashes between government forces and "armed groups" lately.

Activists claim that Syrian troops are fighting army defectors particularly in Homs.

Syria has been plagued by unrest since mid-March when protests against the government of President Bashar Assad erupted.

More than 3,000 people, including army and security members, have been killed in the turmoil, according to figures released by the United Nation.