Syrian troops on Thursday pulled out of the Druze heartland of Sweida on the orders of the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed more than 500 people, according to a war monitor.

One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city.

Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias.

Despite reports indicating the strike was carried out by Israel, Channel 12 reported that the Israeli military had not conducted the strikes. Israel carried out an airstrike in the vicinity of Syria's Sweida,

Syrian troops pulled out of the Druze heartland province of Sweida Thursday on orders from the Islamist-led government, leaving bodies strewn on the street, AFP journalists reported from the provincia