BEIRUT — Syria’s Defense Ministry announced Monday the completion of a military operation against remnants of the former Assad regime on the Syrian coast, where fighting between pro-Assad militias and security forces killed more than 1,000 people, including 745 civilians in less than a week, the deadliest since President Bashar al-Assad's fall last December.

Ministry spokesperson Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a statement on the X platform that the Syrian forces managed to “neutralize the security cells and remnants of the defunct regime” and succeeded in “thwarting the threats and securing the area.”

"Our forces were able to neutralize the security cells and remnants of the defunct regime from the town of al-Mukhtariyya, the town of al-Muzayri’a, the al-Zobar area and others in Latakia governorate, and the town of al-Daliyah, the town of Tanita and al-Qadmus in Tartous governorate, which resulted in thwarting the threats and securing the area," ministry spokesperson Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a post on the X platform. 

He noted that public institutions were now able to resume their work and provide essential services, saying a plan was put in place to continue fighting remnants of the former regime and any future threats.

The latest unrest, the most violent since Assad's fall Dec. 8, erupted last Thursday when pro-Assad militias attacked security patrols in the coastal city of Jableh and surrounding areas. Forces linked to the new rulers in Syria were subsequently........

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