Summary:
The Syrian government has stepped up security in several towns after a series of attacks, with the death toll from the attacks has risen to a record.

Full article:
(CNN) -- Security forces in Syria killed seven people in two towns Friday, an opposition activist group said. A security raid in the town of Halfaya in Hama province killed five people and wounded 11 others, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Security forces killed two people in the Idlib province town of Jabal al-Zawiya, the group said. State TV, meanwhile, said gunmen in the Daraa province opened fire on a checkpoint, killing one "martyr" and wounding four. More than 2,600 people have died in Syria since mid-March, when demonstrations critical of the government were met with a fierce security crackdown. Accounts of clashes inside Syria are difficult to independently confirm. The Syrian government has prevented international journalists from reporting without restraint inside the country.