In the East of Syria, unknown gunmen shot one of the leaders of the Kurdish opposition Mishaal al-Tammo, a former member of the Syrian National Council. The information was reported by local law enforcement agencies.

Gunmen have shot dead prominent Syrian Kurdish opposition figure Mishaal al-Tammo in his home in Qamishli, north-eastern Syria, activists say.

Anti-regime activists said four men entered his home and opened fire.

The US state department blamed the Syrian authorities for the deaths, reportedly calling the killing a "clear escalation of regime tactics".

Meanwhile, at least eight people were killed in protests following Friday prayers.

The deaths occurred in the central city of Homs, the Damascus suburb of Douma and in Zabadani, near the Lebanese border, activists reported.

Mr Tammo's son and a fellow Kurdish political activist were wounded in Friday's shooting, reports said.

Mr Tammo was in the Kurdish Future party and had recently been released after spending more than two years in jail.

He was also a member of the executive committee of the newly formed Syrian National Council, a broad front bringing together opposition figures inside and outside the country in an attempt to unite the dispersed dissident movement.