Thousands of regime backers massed at a mosque in the Syrian capital today for funeral prayers for policemen killed in a Damascus bombing, as the government vowed to respond with an “iron fist” to security threats.

Syrians ran for their lives today as elite army units swept through a northern province, expanding a deadly operation to crush signs of dissent against President Bashar Assad.

Angelina Jolie wants to visit Syrian refugees who have fled violence and are camped out on the Turkish side of the border, Turkey said today.

ARMED men attacked Syrian security forces in a tense northern city yesterday, Syrian officials said, and 120 policemen and security forces were killed in a region where the army has carried out days of deadly assaults on protesters calling for the end of President Bashar Assad’s rule.