Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed 11 rebels as they fled the village of Al Hosn, home to a famous Crusader castle, for the nearby Lebanese border, military sources reported on Thursday.
"During the operations in the Al-Hosn area, armed men (rebels) tried to flee for Lebanese territory. They fell to an ambush laid by the army, and 11 armed men were killed," the source told Agence France Presse (AFP).
Al Hosn is home to the famous Krak de Chevaliers, a Crusader castle known for being one of the best preserved medieval castles in the world.
Activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP that 60 people were "killed or injured as they fled areas of Al Hosn for the Syrian border with Lebanon."
The Britain-based human rights group was unable to release an precise death toll, but said that both civilians and rebel fighters were among the numbers, according to AFP.
