A Syrian activist group says two car bomb attacks in southern Syria have killed at least 20 Syrian security force members.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says two bombs exploded minutes apart Saturday when the cars pulled up separately into a military camp in Deraa.

Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad is insisting that he still has the support of the Syrian people and army, even as violence rages on and reports have emerged that more of his military officers defected to Turkey.

As Syrian government forces pounded rebel targets across the country Friday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported that at least 26 military officers, including two generals and 11 colonels, fled across the border.

U.N. officials also say more than 11,000 Syrians have fled violence in Syria since Thursday, in one of the largest refugee exoduses since the 20-month civil war began. About 120,000 refugees are now believed to be in Turkey. An estimated 36,000 people have died as the government crackdown against protesters developed into a full-blown civil war.