Two children were killed and another three civilians were injured Wednesday when "armed terrorist groups" targeted a minibus in Syria's central Homs province, state-run SANA news agency reported.

The minibus was targeted at al-Qusour neighborhood in Homs, said SANA, giving no further details.

In a separate incident on Wednesday, armed groups attacked a security force's checkpoint at al-Sultania area in Homs, killing five security members, pro-government Sham FM radio reported.

Also on Wednesday, the government troops clashed with armed groups in Wadi al-Sayeh area, killing three gunmen.

Homs, Syria's third-largest city, emerged as a stronghold of armed rebels over the yearlong crisis. The Syrian army has pushed in some neighborhoods in the area and managed to dislodge the rebel fighters.

The Syrian government has accused some Arab and Western countries of providing weapons and financial support to the armed groups in Syria. It said in December 2011 that "armed terrorist groups" had killed more than 2,000 army and security personnel during the unrest.

The United Nations said recently that more than 8,000 people died in Syria's violence and 230,000 Syrians have fled their homes since the beginning of unrest one year ago.