DAMASCUS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Seven members of Syria's White Helmets rescue service were killed Saturday in a raid by attackers in a jihadist-held northwestern town, the White Helmets said in statement.
The attackers struck in Sarmin, nine kilometres east of the city of Idlib, that is controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadist alliance.
"The civil defence centre in Sarmin was the target of an armed attack by unknown assailants in which seven volunteers were killed," the White Helmets said.
It was not immediately clear whether the motives for the raid were political or purely criminal.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham denounced what it called an "ugly crime" and vowed to track down the perpetrators and bring them to account.
The jihadist group said the attack was aimed at "undermining our revolution", adding that it stood ready to protect the White Helmets in "liberated areas" of Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the seven volunteers had all been killed by bullets to the head.
