14 security personnel killed in Syria’s Tartus ambush by former Assad regime remnants

 At least 14 people were killed and 10 injured Wednesday in an ambush by remnants of Syria’s ousted Bashar al-Assad regime targeting security forces of the new administration.

Interior Minister Mohammed Abdel Rahman told state news agency SANA that forces aligned with the former Assad regime attacked security personnel under the Interior Ministry in rural areas of Tartus province.

He said “14 Interior Ministry personnel were killed and 10 others wounded after … a treacherous ambush by remnants of the criminal regime” in Tartus “while performing their tasks of maintaining security and safety.”

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of the capital Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.

The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.