19 loses battle of life in Syrian clashes

While another eight died during a crackdown on protests in flashpoint Homs, rights activists said. The killings came as thousands of protesters took to the streets on the Muslim weekly day of prayer that is a lightning rod in the six months of anti-regime protests in which the UN says 2,700 people have been killed by a fierce crackdown.The activists said those killed in Homs province were shot dead by security forces who opened fire on protesters, even as around 250 tanks and armoured vehicles entered Rastan, a major city in the province where there have been intense military operations against army defectors for days.It said 32 soldiers were wounded in clashes overnight in Rastan and Talbisseh.