Finding the remnants of the old dictatorship and bringing them to justice has emerged as a top priority for the new administration in Syria.

Syria's new rebel-led authorities say supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad have killed 14 interior ministry troops in an "ambush" in the west of the country. They say 10 other troops were wounded in the fighting on Tuesday near the Mediterranean port of Tartous, a stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite Muslim sect.

Syria's transitional government has vowed to dissolve and restructure all security agencies of the toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime accused of mass killings and abuses. Al-Assad, who ruled Syria for more than two decades,