Sectarian gunmen shoot Christian teacher in Homs, kill two Alawites

Local reporting says sectarian gunmen killed three people in the Homs area in February 2026.

“Sectarian violence in Homs, Syria, has claimed the lives of a Christian and two Alawites”

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The victims included a Christian teacher and an Alawite couple.

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The Alawite victims are named as Khidr Karakeet and his fiancée, Nada Salem.

The Christian teacher is named as 47-year-old Iman Jarrous.

Reports place the shootings on 18 February for the couple and five days later for Jarrous, forming a short, deadly sequence of attacks in the same area.

The reporting gives names and a possible motive: the Alawite couple are identified as Khidr Karakeet and Nada Salem.

CSW suggests Jarrous may have been mistaken for an Alawite because she was not wearing a hijab.

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That detail is used to suggest sectarian misidentification as a plausible reason for the teacher’s killing.

The coverage situates these attacks within longer-standing targeting of Alawites and Christians, described as being attacked both as religious 'heretics' and for perceived links to the Assad regime.

The articles place the shootings against the backdrop of political change in Syria after Bashar al-Assad's deposition in late 2024 and the rise of a new government dominated by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

“Sectarian violence in Homs, Syria, has claimed the lives of a Christian and two Alawites”

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That coverage notes HTS's public pledge for an "inclusive, multi-faith state" while also saying the authorities "have failed to stop recurring sectarian attacks," highlighting a contrast between official promises and security realities on the ground.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is quoted directly in the reporting and calls on the Syrian government to act.

CSW founder Mervyn Thomas "urged the Syrian government to tackle extremism, sectarianism and hate speech, protect vulnerable minorities and bring perpetrators to justice."

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The pieces present CSW’s appeal as the main reaction to the killings and use it to argue that targeted minorities remain vulnerable amid ongoing instability.