On Sunday, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of spies working for the foreign-backed opposition, said the militants killed 25 pro-government fighters in the village of Maan.

However, Syrian officials said the victims were mainly women and children and accused the extremists of committing a massacre in the village.

"This massacre isn't the first," Social Affairs Minister Kinda al-Shamat said, adding that similar attacks had occurred during the nearly three-year unrest.

She criticized the silence of international organizations over the killings.

"We feel the insistence of the international community… to divert attention to areas which are not suffering to the same extent as these regions," Shamat added.

"Unfortunately we don't hear condemnation from any international organization of these massacres taking place in these villages," she said.

A British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people.

The extracts of the study by defense consultancy IHS Jane's were published on September 16, 2013.

IHS Jane's estimates that some 10,000 militants are fighting for groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the rest fight for different militant groups.
The analysis also said that a large number of extremists from foreign countries are active in Syria.

Syria sank into war in March 2011 when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of Western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

SHI/SHI