Eleven people were killed in clashes in a suburb of Damascus after armed groups attacked civilians and security forces. This was reported by the official Syrian news agency SANA, quoted by world agencies, reports BTA.
Since Tuesday, gunmen have been shooting at civilian cars and security force patrols on the roads. A checkpoint in the town of Sahnaya, located south of the Syrian capital, was also attacked, SANA said.
Local residents told the DPA agency that the attacks used automatic weapons and grenade launchers, which caused damage to homes and vehicles. Many were terrified and worried for their safety.
Security forces entered the central part of Sahnaya under heavy fire to reach the predominantly Druze neighborhoods, a local witness said.
The clashes in Sahnaya came a day after violence erupted in another town near Damascus, Jaramana. The tension there was sparked by an audio recording in which a man insulted the Prophet Muhammad. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 17 people were killed in the unrest in Jaramana.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli army had carried out a pre-emptive operation targeting an "extremist group" that had been organizing and carrying out attacks on the Druze population in Sahnaya. No further details about the operation were released.
The statement also said that a "serious message" had been sent to the Syrian regime, with Israel demanding that it take measures to protect the Druze.
On March 1, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that the army was ready to intervene to protect the town of Jaramana, as the local minority was "under attack" by Syrian forces.
The Syrian Interior Ministry said it was still trying to identify the man in the controversial audio recording. At the same time, representatives of the Druze community in Jaramana rejected the authenticity of the recording and described it as a provocation aimed at inciting violence.
After the fall of Bashar al-Assad's long-standing regime in December, Syria's new Islamist leadership called for national unity and promised to include the different communities. However, violence in the country continues.
In March, heavy clashes broke out in Syria's western coastal region between forces loyal to the new government and armed supporters of Assad, killing hundreds of people.