Syria’s security forces launched an operation on Thursday against pro-Assad fighters in the western province of Tartus, state media said, a day after deadly clashes with gunmen affiliated with the former government.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said three people were killed in the operation in coastal Tartus city, adding they were “armed men loyal to the former regime” of toppled president Bashar al-Assad.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Official news agency SANA said the operation had succeeded in “neutralizing a certain number” of fighters, adding the objective was to “restore security, stability and the civil peace” in the region.The situation in Tartus province, a stronghold of al-Assad’s Alawite religious community, has been fraught in recent days.On Wednesday 14 members of the security forces and three gunmen were killed in the town of Khirbet al-Maaza, according to the Observatory, as the new authorities sought