Gunmen dressed in military uniforms and traveling in government cars were responsible for killing 120 members of the Syrian security forces in the past week in the northwestern city of Jisr al-Shughour, state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported June 8. The official Syrian claim could not be independently verified, but it does lend credence to reports STRATFOR has received from opposition as well as pro-regime sources in Syria on the increasing number of defections among Syrian army troops and police who have refused to take part in the regime's intensifying crackdowns on anti-government protesters. These defections are concerning to Syrian President Bashar al Assad's regime, which is wary of the possibility of arms and equipment flowing to the opposition. However, the Alawite-dominated military so far has not seen the type and level of defections that would pose an imminent threat to the regime's survival.