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About 11 students of the Police Academy were kidnapped Wednesday by armed groups in the central Hama province as another armed groups killed an officer in northern Idlib province, state-run SANA news agency reported.
On their way to Hurein village in Hama, the 11 students were kidnapped at gun point when armed groups cut off their bus, said SANA.
In northern Idlib province, government forces clashed with armed groups at Khan Sheikhun area, killing two terrorists, said SANA, adding that an army captain was killed in the clashes.
Clashes have intensified lately between troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and armed rebels comprising partly of defectors. The Syrian army has conducted many ground operations in restive areas ,such as central Homs and Hama, northern Idlib and southern Daraa provinces, to stamp out the anti-government movement.
The nearly one-year-old crisis has started peacefully but protesters have started to take up arms citing the alleged tough crackdown by Syria's army and security apparatus.
The Syrian government has accused some Arab and Western countries of providing weapons and financial support to the armed groups in Syria. It said in December 2011 that "armed terrorist groups" had killed more than 2,000 army and security personnel during the unrest.
The United Nations said recently that "well over" 7,500 people have died in Syria's violence. |
