The spokesperson for the Syrian Interior Ministry, Nour Al-Din Al-Baba, stated in a press conference regarding the circumstances of the crime that claimed the lives of a mosque imam and his wife: “The identity of the killer has been identified and arrested. He is Mohammed Al-Hamid bin Khalifa, a drug user and a relative of the deceased.” Al-Baba added: “Initial investigations suggested that the Zaidal crime was motivated by criminal intent.”
Al-Baba revealed that “the perpetrator wrote sectarian phrases at the crime scene to divert suspicion from himself and mislead justice.” On November 24, the governorate of Homs in central Syria announced that the initial tally of damages resulting from the acts of vandalism and arson, which affected some properties and vehicles in neighborhoods with a predominantly Alawite population following the crime in the town of Zaidal, “amounted to 19 houses, 29 cars, and 21 commercial shops.”
The governorate noted “the continued direct coordination with tribal leaders and sheikhs, in addition to ongoing communication with local activities in the affected neighborhoods to reassure the residents and calm the streets.”
