By Jana Choukeir DUBAI (Reuters) -A Syrian military operation against loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad has been completed, the defence ministry said on Monday, after the heaviest fighting since former rebels seized power three months ago.

The violence broke out when gunmen loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad ambushed a Syrian security patrol near the port city of Latakia.

Clashes between loyalists & the new rulers have killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, according to a war monitoring group.

Syria’s interim government has announced the end of a days-long military operation against insurgents loyal to ousted president Bashar Assad and his family in the worst fighting since the end of the 1

Syrian defense ministry announced on Monday the completion of the military operations to fight remnants of former ousted President Bashar al-Assad. The clashes between Assad's loyalists and the country's new Islamist rulers have killed over 1,

Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, after nearly 1,000 civilians were killed in the worst violence since his overthrow.