Syrian army launches raid in flashpoint town

Syria's army Friday launched an operation against "armed gangs" in the flashpoint town of Jisr al-Shughur, where authorities say 120 police and troops were massacred, state television said. The raid came after tanks and troops had converged on the northwestern town on Thursday, sending hundreds of residents fleeing to Turkey, the nearest foreign haven. The crackdown comes as President Bashar al-Assad's comes under mounting international pressure over accusations of massacres of pro-democracy protesters and rights activists. Residents of Jisr al-Shughur denied the claims that scores of security force members had been killed in the town, with some speaking of a mutiny by some security forces that ended in bloodshed.