18 Soldiers Killed Amid Escalating Violence in Syria’s Sweida, Defense Ministry Says

Tensions—and violence—continue to mount between Syria’s Sunni Islamist leadership and the country’s embattled Druze community.

An armed man passes a burning vehicle near the site of clashes between Druze and Bedouin tribesmen near Sweida, Syria, on July 14, 2025. Stringer/Getty Images

At least 18 government soldiers have been killed in steadily mounting sectarian violence in Syria’s southern Sweida province, the country’s defense ministry has said.

“While army units were carrying out their national tasks [in Sweida] … their military posts were subjected to treacherous attacks by an outlawed armed group,” ministry spokesman Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani was quoted as saying by Syria’s state-run SANA news agency on July 14.