Syria's defense ministry says it has completed a military operation in the country's western coastal region, after days of violence in which hundreds of people have been killed.
Security forces had "neutralized" loyalists of former president Bashar al-Assad in several towns in Latakia and Tartous provinces and were "paving the way for life to return to normal", a ministry spokesman said.
A monitoring group says more than 1,500 people have been killed since Thursday, including 1,068 civilians.
Gunmen loyal to the Sunni Islamist-led government have been accused of carrying out revenge killings against members of Assad's minority Alawite sect following a deadly ambush on a security patrol.
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