Syrian troops storm town near Turkish border
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Syrian tanks stormed a town on the main highway to Turkey Tuesday, killing at least four and injuring several others, activists based in Beirut said.
"The Syrian army stormed under heavy shelling the village of al-Rastan," an activist said. They also took prisoners, he said.
"Helicopters were used to shell a major highway leading to Turkey to prevent army defectors and activists fleeing," he added.
"Dozens of people were snatched from their homes in the early hours of the morning and taken in buses blindfolded to an unknown destination," said the activist, who requested anonymity.
Al-Rastan, which has 40,000 residents, is located near the city of Homs, which has been under siege by the Syrian army for two days.
Foreign journalists are barred from Syria, where the regime has so far killed an estimated 2,700 people during its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, according to opposition activists and rights groups.
