Forces of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
BEIRUT: Syrian soldiers have killed three Westerners, including an American woman and a British man, both Muslims, in northwest Idlib province near the Turkish border, a monitoring group reported late Thursday.
"They were shot dead during an ambush in the Idlib region and the army found them with maps of military positions," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The three had apparently been taking photos of military positions on the road between Harim, near the border with Turkey, and the town of Idlib further south when government troops ambushed them, he added.
The incident happened on Wednesday.
The nationality of the third Westerner was not clear, said Rahman.
A US State Department official, in response to a query from AFP in Washington, said "We are aware of the case."
Czech diplomats in Syria were helping them in efforts to get more information.
"Because of privacy considerations, we are unable to comment further," the official added.
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The UK Foreign Office has confirmed that a Briton fighting alongside foreign-backed militants was killed in Idlib, Syria
The 23-year-old man, named as Ali Almanasfi, was among three Westerners who were ambushed by Syrian government forces in their car while traveling through the northwestern province on Thursday. Syrian state-run television reported that a 33-year-old American woman, identified as Nicole Lynn Mansfield, and the two others were members of al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.
The TV footage showed a black car covert in bullet holes and three bodies laid out with multiple gunshot wounds. It also showed a cache of weapons, a computer, a hand-drawn map of a government installation, and a flag belonging to the terrorist group.
“We understand that a British National has been killed in Syria. Their family have been informed and we are providing consular assistance,” said a Foreign Office spokesperson.
Can anyone ask what those westerners were doing in Syria? For sure it is not a tourist spot at the moment.