Two prominent Syrian figures were killed along with two other civilians Wednesday by "armed terrorist groups" in north and central Syria, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

Abdel Razaq Jbeiro, head of Red Crescent branch in northern Idlib province, was assassinated on Wednesday by armed men in northern Khan Sheikhoun city, just outside Idlib, according to SANA.

The gunmen opened fire on Jbeiro and killed him with a shot to the head after which he was transported to a nearby hospital but could not be saved, the report said.

Meanwhile, another armed group assassinated Father Basilious Nassar, priest of Kafrbuhum village, while he was giving first aid to a wounded man at al-Jarajmeh neighborhood in central Hama province, according to SANA.

In another attack on Wednesday, an armed group killed an old man along with his wife after kidnapping them a day earlier in central Homs province.

On the opposition side, some opposition activists' group was quoted by the Doha-based al-Jazeera TV as saying that a total of 24 people were killed by security forces' gunfire in several Syrian cities on Wednesday.

The report said that the Syrian army conducted raids in Hama. The opposition's report, however, could not be independently checked.

The Syrian government says that the turmoil in Syria is plotted by terrorists and foreign-backed armed gangs. It said more than 2, 000 army and security personnel were killed during the months-long unrest, while the United Nations put the death toll in the country at more than 5,400.