Syrian authorities apprehend gunmen in Homs

Syria's specialized forces apprehended Wednesday a number of wanted gunmen, who had committed atrocities in the central Homs province, the official SANA news agency reported. The forces also sized large quantities of weapons and ammunition in Homs, SANA said. Meanwhile, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera cited activists as saying that about 16 people were allegedly killed on Wednesday across Syria, adding that most of them were killed in Homs. Syria's official media is reporting on daily bases confessions by alleged terrorists in Homs and other cities in addition to reports of seized weapons and ammunition particularly in Homs, Syria's third largest city that is witnessing escalating violence. Syria has blamed the seven-month-old unrest on armed groups and extremists backed by a foreign conspiracy that aim at fomenting a sectarian rift in the country. In a another development on Wednesday, tens of thousands packed a main square in the northern province of Aleppo in a tremendous show of support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who has come under withering international criticism over his alleged crackdown on the protest movement. Syria's state-run TV aired live footage of the Saad Allah Jaber square in Aleppo with tens of thousands of Assad supporters shouting in favor of him and against the "international intervention" attempts in Syria. The Aleppo rally came one week after a similar one held in the capital Damascus.