Tensions have flared in the city of Qatana, southwest of Damascus, following the killing of a security officer in clashes with suspected drug traffickers on Thursday night, with fears the tensions could spark sectarian unrest between local communities.

According to security sources who spoke to Syria TV, officer Jamil Momneh (known as Abu Walid) was leading a unit that had tracked a shipment of drugs entering from Lebanon towards villages in the Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) region.

The unit laid an ambush near the village of Aysam in an attempt to arrest the traffickers and seize the narcotics, resulting in a brief firefight breaking out between the gang and the Internal Security Forces.