Syrian troops pulled out of the Druze heartland province of Sweida on orders from the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed more than 500 people, according to

Syria said that its army had begun to withdraw from violence-hit Sweida following a wave of Israeli strikes on the capital and a US call for forces to leave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Syrian government troops will be blocked from the area south of the capital Damascus to protect the Druze minority following Israel's attacks in the country earlier this week.

DAMASCUS -- The death toll from this week's deadly clashes in southern Syria's Sweida province has risen to nearly 600, as tensions continued Thursday amid an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Sweida, state-run media and a war monitor reported.

Residents emerged from their homes to scenes of devastation on Thursday after government forces withdrew from the Syrian Druze-majority city of Sweida, leaving behind looted shops, burned homes and

After five days of hunkering down at his home in the southern city of Sweida, 33-year-old Hossam emerged on Thursday and drove around to survey the damage. Wherever he went, the smell of death lingered.

Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G Syria’s war may have faded from headlines, but in Sweida, violence has erupted once again — this time killing over 100, mostly from the Druze community. A tribal feud between Druze and Bedouins spiralled into a deadly confrontation,

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border amid ongoing clashes in Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday afternoon.