Two army officers were killed on Tuesday when armed groups targeted their vehicle in a suburb of the northern province of Aleppo, Syria's second largest city that remained relatively calm during the year-long crisis, the state- run SANA news agency reported.

Armed groups showered the vehicle with a barrage of bullets in the Salamiya area, killing a colonel and a lieutenant colonel.

Separately, Syrian troops evacuated a two-story building in northern Idlib province after they found an explosive device planted by armed groups, according to SANA's report.

In central Hama province, government troops clashed with armed groups at Al-Madiq citadel in the countryside and killed a number of gunmen, said SANA, adding that three law-enforcement members were injured in the clashes.

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.

However, the United Nations said recently that more than 7,500 people had died in Syria's year-long violence. The UNHCR, UN's refugee agency said 230,000 Syrians have fled their homes since the eruption of domestic violence last March.

Meanwhile, the UNHCR, has announced the appointment of Panos Moumtzis, previously its head of Donor Relations, as its regional coordinator for Syrian refugees.