Three civilians were killed and 17 others were wounded when unidentified gunmen shot at demonstrators who held late Saturday a candlelight vigil at the central city of Homs in honor of all those killed in Syria during the past nine months of unrest, state-run SANA news agency reported.
In the meantime, private al-Watan newspaper said the military hospital in Homs received Saturday 20 military personnel whose vehicle came under the gunfire of armed groups in Homs, Xinhua reported.
The paper said three military personnel and more than 15 law- enforcement agents were wounded during clashes with gunmen who had attacked army checkpoints in different districts of Homs. A gunman was killed and two others were wounded in the clashes.
Quoting medics, al-Watan said the national hospital in Homs received 6 bodies, four of them were mutilated and beyond recognition.
Homs, Syria's third largest city and home to about 800,000 people, has witnessed severe clashes between troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and militia groups, allegedly comprising of Syrian army defectors.
The region is considered one of Syria's most volatile areas, as the daily grind of violence stocked fears that the central region has slid toward a civil war.
The Syrian government said a total of 2,000 army and security personnel were killed during the months-long unrest, while the United Nations put the death toll in the country at more than 5,000.
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