Syria's newly appointed interim prime minister says he held a Cabinet meeting days after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

Mohammed al-Bashir told Syrian state-run media and other outlets that the meeting was joined by ministers from the Assad administration.

They discussed the transfer of power. Bashir indicated he wants to speed up the transition to help stabilize people's lives.

He reportedly said the interim government's term expires in March next year.

Bashir is the head of a body that has been effectively governing the northwestern region of Idlib. He was appointed caretaker prime minister on Tuesday.

The UN and others are expressing concern about rebel groups designated as terrorist organizations taking the initiative in the transition process.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces say they carried out more than 350 airstrikes on military targets and other facilities in Syria over a 48-hour period. They claim they are preventing weapons stockpiles from falling into the hands of rebel forces.

The forces took control of the capital Damascus on Sunday. This led to the fall of the authoritarian Assad government, which ruled the country for more than half a century.