According to Syria's state news agency, “armed gangs” killed at least 40 security officers. The attacks, if confirmed, would be the most lethal anti-government retaliation in Syria since President Bashar al-Assad began a brutal crackdown on protesters three months ago. State media reported that police officers and security personnel heading to the town of Jisr al-Shughour were ambushed by the “armed gangs,’ and in what appeared to be a separate attack, eight guards in the town were killed when pipe bombs exploded in a post office.
