Syria's new rebel-led authorities say 14 interior ministry personnel have been killed and 10 injured in an "ambush" by forces loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad in the west of the country. They say the fighting took place near the Mediterranean port of Tartous on Tuesday.

Forces loyal to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed 14 police members and wounded 10 others, according to the caretaker government, as the country experiences its worst violence since the autocrat’s toppling early this month.

An ambush in Syria by suspected loyalists to deposed President Bashar al-Assad killed as many as 20 members of Syria's new security force in the west of the country Thursday, officials said.