Overview
- Security and health officials say attackers opened fire on a company bus as it crossed the Masyaf/Misyaf Bridge, leaving seven dead and four wounded, with the injured taken to hospitals.
- Authorities and state media report the victims were company employees returning home from work and that security forces launched an on‑site investigation but have named no suspects.
- The UK‑based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told reporters that the victims were Alawites, a detail that local monitors say has deepened concerns about targeted violence against minorities.
- No group has claimed responsibility for the ambush, and Homs Internal Security Forces commander Brig. Gen. Bassem Mohammad Shaaban called the attack an effort to destabilize the governorate and vowed to pursue the perpetrators.
- The shooting occurred the same day as a gas‑pipeline explosion at the Tishreen plant that injured two people and temporarily cut gas supplies to three power stations, increasing power rationing and disrupting water services for many residents.