Syrian troops on Thursday pulled out of the Druze heartland of Sweida on the orders of the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed more than 500 people, according to a war monitor.

One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city.

Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias.

Israel bombed the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after warning the Islamist-led government to leave the Druze minority alone in its Sweida heartland, where a war monitor says sectarian clashes have killed nearly 250 people.

Syrian troops pulled out of the Druze heartland province of Sweida Thursday on orders from the Islamist-led government, leaving bodies strewn on the street, AFP journalists reported from the provincia

Syria's defense minister has announced a ceasefire just hours after government forces entered a key city in the volatile Sweida province. Tuesday's announcement follows deadly sectarian clashes betwee