Syria's newly established authorities reported that 14 interior ministry troops were killed and 10 others injured in an ambush near the Mediterranean port city of Tartous, a stronghold of the ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite Muslim sect.

The incident occurred on Tuesday as security forces attempted to apprehend a former officer linked to the notorious Saydnaya prison, located near Damascus. The prison has long been associated with allegations of human rights abuses under Assad's regime.

The UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed the ambush, stating that three "armed men" were killed during the clashes, although the group did not identify the individuals. Reinforcements were reportedly deployed to the area following the attack.

The ambush comes just over two weeks after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces led by the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The fall of Assad’s presidency has intensified tensions in the country, with sporadic violence erupting in areas still loyal to the former regime.

Tartous remains a significant stronghold for Assad’s minority Alawite sect, and the ambush underscores the ongoing volatility as Syria’s new authorities work to consolidate control. (ILKHA)