Syria National Reconciliation Minister Escapes Assassination, Driver Killed

National Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar escaped an assassination attempt on the Masyaf-Qadmus road where gunmen fired on his car killing his driver but missing their target, state television said in a breaking news alert.Ali Haydar

Haidar was not in the car at the time of the shooting, it added.

Masyaf is in central Hama province, while Qadmus lies in the coastal province of Tartus.

Haidar, head of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, was appointed minister for national reconciliation by President Bashar al-Assad in June 2012. He belongs to the opposition which distances itself from the armed militants fighting in Syria.

One of his children was killed by unidentified gunmen in Hama in May 2012, shortly before he was appointed minister.