Syrian security personnel have clashed with armed groups in the country's southern Sweida province, home to the Druze community.
Security forces were "repelling attacks by outlaw groups" in the western countryside, Syria's state news agency Sana reported. At least 10 members of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) were injured after they came under attack with "shells and heavy machineguns", in the Tal Hadid and Walgha areas, the group told state-run Al Ikhbariya TV.
An ISF vehicle was attacked, resulting in civilian injuries, the ISF said, without specifying how many. It said the violence coincided with protests in Sweida against the "outlaw groups" preventing students from taking exams.
"Several Internal Security Forces personnel have been injured in recent months as a result of attacks and assaults carried out by outlaw groups against their positions in villages in the western Sweida countryside," Sana reported.
Sweida has been gripped by fighting since the fall of former president Bashar Al Assad's regime in 2024. Last year, Bedouin fighters, Druze militias and government security forces were involved in days of clashes in the province.
The unrest led to civilian deaths, kidnappings and property damage. Residents of many villages fled the violence, with some refusing to return to areas under government control.
