According to an official source at the Ministry of Interior, one policeman Ahmad al-Ahmad was killed and 11 police and security personnel were injured when a group of armed criminals opened fire on them in Talbisa near Homs. It all started when armed criminal groups cut off the Homs-Hama-Aleppo international highway in the area and were terrorizing civilians. The military was mobilized to the area to put an end to the armed groups' crime spree and prevent them from cutting off the highway again.1 Meanwhile, the Syrian Customs authorities seized a huge consignment of weapons, including up-to-date machine guns of various kinds, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, night-vision scopes, grenade launchers and large quantities of various kinds of ammunition, in a refrigerator truck driven by an Iraqi in a bid to smuggle it from Iraq to Syria via al-Tanf border crossing. Director-General of Syrian Customs, Mustapha al-Bikai, said that other weapons consignments have been seized lately as there were attempts at smuggling them into Syria via Bab al-Hawa, as-Salama, Jdaidet Yabous crossings.2

• 1. “One policeman martyred, 11 injured when armed criminals opened fire on them in Talbisa near Homs”, Syrian Arab News Agency, April 18, 2011, at http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/04/18/342080.htm
• 2. “Authorities Seize Huge Weapons Consignment Bound for Syria”, Syrian Arab News Agency, April 18, 2011, at http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/04/18/342011.htm