In one of the deadliest confrontations since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, at least 15 security personnel were killed in a series of ambushes in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia, according to security sources.
The attacks occurred on Thursday near Jableh, a town in the Latakia countryside, an area considered the stronghold of Syria’s Alawite minority, to which the Assad family belongs.
A Syrian security official, speaking to Al Jazeera, confirmed the casualties, stating that the security personnel were targeted in “various armed ambushes.”
“The Syrian state will impose its authority on all groups operating outside the law and will not allow security to be threatened,” the official said.
The attacks have raised concerns about the security situation in Syria’s coastal regions, which have become a flashpoint since Assad’s ouster three months ago. The central government has since deployed reinforcements, sending dozens of military vehicles from Hama, Homs, and Idlib to Latakia to restore order.
According to Al Jazeera's correspondent in Damascus, tensions remain high following the ambushes. "Since the fall of the Assad regime, this is perhaps one of the biggest security challenges the new government is facing," the reporter noted.
Shortly after the attacks, a video surfaced featuring an Assad-era commander announcing the formation of a resistance group known as the “Coastal Shield Regiment.” The group, reportedly loyal to former Syrian special forces commander Suhail al-Hassan, has vowed to fight against the new government.
Government Response and Security Measures
Authorities in Latakia claim to have regained control of the situation after security forces engaged in heavy clashes with the armed groups. “Several of the attackers have been killed, and many more have been captured,” officials said.
As a precautionary measure, the government has imposed a curfew in the nearby coastal city of Tartous, where concerns over further violence persist.
The unrest poses a significant challenge for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose administration has been working to consolidate control over Syria in the wake of Assad’s removal. The Mediterranean coastal regions, long seen as a bastion of Assad loyalists, are proving to be among the most difficult areas for the new leadership to stabilise.
