Members of Syria's Druze community are searching for loved ones and counting their dead after days of clashes in a southern province that left bloodied bodies of civilians on the streets and homes looted.

Under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure, Ahmed al-Sharaa pulled troops from Syria's Druze heartland -- a move that exposes the interim leader's weakness just as he sought to assert control.Since seizing office in December after ousting longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad,

Israeli leaders said they launched attacks on Syria this week to protect members of the Druze religious group in the country’s south, amid clashes in the area.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.