Report: Syrian forces attack town near Lebanon, kill 5

Syrian forces killed at least five civilians when they stormed a town near the border with Lebanon on Thursday, activists and a rights group said, in an escalating military campaign to crush dissent against President Bashar al-Assad across the country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had the names of five killed and 16 wounded during morning raids by security forces backed by tanks on the town of Qusair, near Lebanon's northern border, following a night of protest after Ramadan prayers calling for the removal of Assad. (Reuters)