BEIRUT, December 26. /TASS/. At least 14 officers were killed when a group of law enforcers of the Syrian transitional government was ambushed in the city of Tartus during a special operation against supporters of the former president, Interior Minister Mohammad Abdul Rahman has told the SANA news agency.

"Law enforcement officers were ambushed by gunmen while on a mission to maintain public order in neighborhood near Tartus," he said. "As a result, 14 officers were killed and ten more wounded."

Previously, nine law enforcement officers were killed by gunfire during an operation to detain a high-ranking former officer of the previous government in Tartus.

Members of the country’s Alawite religious minority took to the streets on Wednesday in Tartus, Latakia and its suburb of Jableh, and also in Homs. The violent protest was accompanied by attacks on police officers. In response, the authorities imposed a curfew in these areas and accused supporters of former president Bashar Assad of attempts to destabilize the country and incite civil unrest.