Syrian forces attack towns, killing 33, opposition activists say

Syrian government snipers and other forces stalked opponents in homes and neighborhoods Friday in a campaign of gunfire, shelling and arrests amid mass protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, an opposition group said.

At least 33 people died in the violence, including seven in Idlib, seven in the Tadamon neighborhood in Damascus, six in Hama, five in Homs, four in Aleppo, two in Deir Ezzor, one in a Damascus suburb and one in Daraa, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

Three of the victims in Idlib died from torture after their arrest several days earlier, the organization said. The three had been held at an environmental development center that had been transformed into a jail, the group said.