Syria says its security forces have clashed with an armed Islamist group outside Damascus and killed its leader.
The official Syrian news agency, SANA, reports the group was planning terrorist attacks in and around Damascus. It says two members of the group were arrested during Sunday's incident.
Last December, eight suspected militants died in a clash with Syrian security forces in the northern city of Idlib. Weapons, ammunition and explosives belts were seized from the property where that clash took place.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.