Unknown assailants ambushed a patrol of Syria's Road Security Department south of Maarrat al-Numan in Idlib province, northwest Syria, on December 14, 2025, between 5:46 PM and 6:46 PM UTC, killing four members and wounding a fifth, according to a Syria TV correspondent quoted in an X post. A Step News Agency reporter stated that Syrian security forces responded to the area under a major security alert, deploying barriers, while separate reports indicated about 10 security personnel were killed and wounded in the armed attack. An X post by QalaatAlMudiq noted many casualties among a traffic police patrol near Maarrat al-Numan, with most elements killed, marking the fourth such incident in the Idlib area in 36 hours. Additional details from an Arabic-language X post reported a road security patrol came under fire next to the Darwish Laundromat south of the southern bridge in the Maarrat al-Numan area, resulting in three martyrs at the scene. QalaatAlMudiq referenced ISIS claims of responsibility for three prior attacks in the region over the past 10 days, including the killing of a former rebel commander yesterday with four dead, and an IED attack 36 hours ago near Al-Tal in Damascus countryside with no casualties.
