Syria's new authorities launched an operation in a stronghold of ousted president Bashar al-Assad on Thursday, with a war monitor saying three gunmen affiliated with the former government were killed.

Syria's new rulers began an operation in western Tartous province, home to many from ousted leader Bashar Assad's Alawite sect. The killing of 14 police officers the previous day has irked the Islamist-led authorities.

Forces loyal to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed 14 police members and wounded 10 others, according to the caretaker government, as the country experiences its worst violence since the autocrat’s toppling early this month.

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Syria's new rebel-led authorities say 14 interior ministry personnel have been killed and 10 injured in an "ambush" by forces loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad in the west of the country. They say the fighting took place near the Mediterranean port of Tartous on Tuesday.

Several interior ministry personnel were killed in a clash as they went to arrest an officer of the ousted Assad regime. Meanwhile Alawites across the nation protested the decimation of a holy shrine.