Fresh Syrian crackdown feared after 120 officers killed

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.

The government vowed to respond “decisively,” setting the stage for a new crackdown.

Communications were cut to the area around Jisr al-Shughour yesterday and the details of the attack were impossible to verify, but there have been unconfirmed reports in the past by residents and activists of Syrians fighting back against security forces and even mutinous troops.