The sources said the militants were ambushed while trying to flee a Syrian army siege of Qalaat al-Hosn, between the Syrian regions of Homs and Tartous.

Syrian army troops chased the fleeing militants into the Wadi Khaled area of Rajm Hussein, engaging them in fierce fighting, the sources told The Daily Star.

They said several Syrian rockets hit towns bordering Wadi Khaled during the ambush which began at dawn.

Moreover, according to media reports, hundreds of foreign militants have abandoned rebel ranks in northern Syria as frustration rises over bloody infighting there.

Although the outflow of foreign militants is still small, rebels and activists say, but illustrates the disillusionment many appear to feel as they spend more time fighting each other.

More than 4,000 killed in three months of infighting among foreign backed militant groups across territories in northern and eastern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Activists and rebels say Saudis, Kuwaitis, Libyans, Tunisians, Yemenis and European militants have been among those who have started to return home, with a few headed to other new battlefields.

NJF/NJF