Syrian Forces Kill More than 50 Civilian as Dissidents Clash with Troops

A roadside bomb killed 15 detainees being transported in a Syrian prison truck in Idlib province in the northwest on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"15 prisoners were killed in the explosion which targeted a prison truck on the road between Idlib town and the village of Mastumeh," the Britain-based group's chairman, Rami Abdul Rahman, told Agence France Presse by telephone.

Syrian dissidents killed 9 troops during clashes in Maarat al-Noman in Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory.

Coordination Committees said that “the number of martyrs on Saturday rose to 50 after a massive grave was discovered including 30 unidentified people, two people killed in Douma in Reef Damascus, a person in Deir al-Zour, and 3 citizens in Homs, in addition to the 15 detainees.”

A number of security personnel accompanying the prisoners were wounded, Abdel Rahman said, without being able to provide details.

Syria's official SANA news agency blamed on an "armed terrorist group.

Separately, the Observatory reported that a member of the security forces was killed in fighting between dissidents and soldiers at Kfarnabl, in the Zawiya mountains of Idlib province, with troops using heavy machineguns.

It also said security forces had arrested seven people Saturday, including four members of the same family, in Iblin village.

Syrian army deserters on Saturday seized control of the town of Douma just northeast of Damascus after fierce fighting, according to the Syrian Observatory.

"Groups of deserters took control of all districts in the town of Douma, near Damascus, after fierce fighting on Saturday with Syrian security forces," the Observatory's chief told AFP.

The United Nations estimates that more than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since anti-regime demonstrations erupted in March.