Three killed in armed attack in rural Homs

ANHA correspondent in Homs reported that three people were killed in an attack carried out by an armed group that targeted a grocery store in the village of Hakfa in the rural Homs area.

The correspondent explained that masked gunmen riding in a “Porter” vehicle arrived at the grocery store, owned by citizen Farhan Ma‘rouf, and opened fire directly. At the time, Farhan was accompanied by his son, Montajab Ma‘rouf, and a schoolteacher named Mohammad Shaaban, originally from the village of Dahr al-Maghar in the Salamiya countryside of Hama.

The attack initially resulted in the killing of Mohammad Shaaban. Farhan Ma‘rouf and his son were seriously wounded and transferred to hospitals for treatment, but attempts to save their lives failed, and they died shortly afterward.

This crime comes amid a rise in killings, kidnappings, and systematic displacement targeting members of the Alawite community, in the absence of any effective measures to prevent these violations or hold those responsible accountable.

The incident reflects the continued security deterioration and the suffering of civilians, as violence and lawlessness escalate in transitional government-controlled areas.

ANHA