NEW: Opposition group: At least 10 people are killed in Syria on Tuesday NEW: The ICRC chief calls visiting detained people "a priority" (CNN) -- Despite a promise by the Syrian government to withdraw its forces from population centers, the military pounded opposition-held northern towns and clashed with defectors, activists said Tuesday. We haven't seen this much random shelling on Binnish and the surrounding areas. Crossfire and shelling in Taftanaz killed at least 10 people, an activist group in Binnish said. A suspected militant group attacked the home of a military official, killing two of his bodyguards in Aleppo, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Annan plan calls for authorities to pull its forces and stop troop movement toward population centers and end the use of heavy weapons. An advance team is headed into Syria to discuss the deployment of an observation team to monitor a ceasefire, Annan's office said. Syria's withdrawal announcement came the same day that Russia -- which, along with China, has vetoed U.N. Security Council attempts to condemn the Bashar al-Assad regime -- pressured Damascus to withdraw its troops. "If the withdrawal of troops is not accompanied by similar actions of those who fight against the Syrian government, I believe that no results will be yielded soon," said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to the state-run Itar-Tass news agency. Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, expressed skepticism over the Syrians' promise to start pulling out its troops. "Let's be realistic," she said on Monday. Annan's peace plan also addresses humanitarian aid and the plight of detainees -- two issues on the agenda of International Committee of the Red Cross President Jakob Kellenberger, now meeting top government ministers in Damascus. Kellenberger also plans to visit areas affected by the fighting and observe the work of the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. "I am determined to see the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent expand their presence, range and scope of activities to address the needs of vulnerable people," Kellenberger said before he arrived in Damascus on Monday. This will be a key element of my talks with the Syrian officials. The ICRC has obtained greater access to many areas affected by fighting, a development it calls "positive." Kellenberger is discussing an expansion of those activities, the implementation of a two-hour daily pause to distribute relief, and greater access to detainees, said ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan. "Visiting people who have been detained remains a priority for us," said Kellenberger, making his third visit to Syria since June. The ICRC wants to interview detainees without the presence of security forces or other detainees, Hassan said. CNN's Kareem Khadder, Ivan Watson, Samira Said and Amir Ahmed contributed to this report.