Activists say 11 people killed in central, northern Syria

About 11 people, including eight army personnel, were killed Tuesday in northern and central Syria, a broad-based activists group reported. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was cited by the Day-Press news website as saying that eight army personnel were ambushed Tuesday by armed men in northern Idlib province. The group meanwhile said that three people were killed early Tuesday in central Homs province, including a child, after ten died the previous day in different regions in Syria. However, the account could not be verified as journalists are banned of independently heading to embattled areas. The Syrian government blames the months-long unrest on armed groups and staunchly defends its army operations in some restive areas, claiming that they are fighting armed terrorist groups that have killed hundreds of army personnel. According to the observatory, the Syrian army has entered the restive Bab Amr area on Monday. The area in unrest-strewn Homs has witnessed one of the most violent clashes over the past months as it is known as a stronghold for armed men and weapons smugglers. The state-TV cited witnesses from Bab Amr as saying that armed groups blockaded the area and forced people to stay at home in addition to mining the area. The witnesses dismissed as mere lies media reports claiming that the army had bombarded the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Syria's state-run news agency said that nine army personnel who had been killed lately in confrontations with armed groups were laid to rest on Tuesday. Syria has overtly charged that some countries are behind the unrest in the country and even fund what it called armed terrorist groups it blames for killing hundreds of policemen and military personnel across the country since the turmoil started in mid- March. It also said weapons have been smuggled into the country and reached the hands of those groups via neighboring countries. According to a UN statement published on Tuesday, at least 3, 500 people have been killed since the outbreak of the unrest.