Syria's new rebel-led authorities say 14 interior ministry personnel have been killed and 10 injured in an "ambush" by forces loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad in the west of the country. They say the fighting took place near the Mediterranean port of Tartous on Tuesday.

Forces loyal to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed 14 police members and wounded 10 others, according to the caretaker government, as the country experiences its worst violence since the autocrat’s toppling early this month.

Syria's new rebel-led authorities say supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad have killed 14 interior ministry troops in an "ambush" in the west of the country. They say 10 other troops were wounded in the fighting on Tuesday near the Mediterranean port of Tartous, a stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite Muslim sect.

Syria's new authorities on Thursday launched a crackdown in a Bashar al-Assad stronghold where 14 security personnel were killed a day before, vowing to pursue "remnants" of the ousted regime.

Syria's new rebel-led authorities say 14 interior ministry personnel have been killed and 10 injured in an "ambush" by forces loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad in the west of the country. They say the fighting took place near the Mediterranean port of Tartous on Tuesday.