12 gov't troops killed in northern, central Syria
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E-mail Xinhua, February 5, 2012
A total of 12 government troops were killed Saturday in clashes with "armed terrorist groups" in central and northern Syria, state-run SANA news agency reported.
Eight security members were killed when armed groups attacked a security post in the Palmyra suburb of the central province of Homs, said SANA, adding that the clashes also led to the killing of many gunmen.
Also in Homs, three law-enforcement members were killed by gunfire from armed groups that attacked a police station in al- Husn area, said SANA.
Meanwhile, members of military engineering units in Homs dismantled four explosive devices planted by armed terrorist groups in al-Qseir suburb.
A source in the area was quoted by SANA as saying that the four explosive devices were attached to each other and set to be detonated through remote control. Each explosive device weighs around 10 kilograms.
In the northern Idlib province, a sergeant of the law- enforcement forces was killed and two other members were wounded in an attack by an armed terrorist group on a police station, said SANA, adding that many of the assailants were killed in the shooting.
On the opposition side, activists were quoted by some Arab TV channels as saying that the death toll of the Syrian army's bombardment on Homs a day earlier rose to 330 as another 1,600 were reported injured.
The Syrian government denied the bombardment reports, calling it "media hype."
The Syrian government said more than 2,000 army and security personnel have been killed during the months-long unrest, while the United Nations put the death toll in the country at more than 5,400.
