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Explosion rocks Homs mosque during prayers
At least eight worshippers died and 18 others were wounded when an explosive device detonated inside a mosque in Syria's Homs city on Friday, the health ministry confirmed.
Scene of devastation
Images released by Syria's state-run Sana news agency depict the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque with charred walls, shattered windows, and bloodstained carpets. Authorities suspect the blast originated from an explosive planted within the building, according to a security source cited by Sana.
Claim of responsibility
The Sunni extremist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah asserted it carried out the attack in coordination with an unnamed faction. The group, which emerged in June after claiming a deadly church bombing in Damascus, remains shrouded in ambiguity regarding its true affiliations.
Analysts have suggested potential ties to the Islamic State (IS) due to similarities in targeting and rhetoric, though concrete evidence remains elusive.
Sectarian tensions flare
The mosque is located in Wadi al-Dhahab, a neighborhood predominantly inhabited by Alawites, a Shia offshoot and one of Syria's largest religious minorities. The attack follows a year of heightened sectarian violence since Syrian rebel forces ousted President Bashar al-Assad, who is Alawite, in 2024.
Assad and his family sought refuge in Russia, a longstanding ally, where they were granted asylum. In March, security forces were accused of killing dozens of Alawites in Latakia province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Government condemns attack
Syria's Foreign Ministry denounced the bombing as a "terrorist crime" in a statement on X, labeling it a "cowardly act" aimed at destabilizing the country's security. The ministry framed the attack as an assault on "human and moral values."
Recent pattern of violence
Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks targeting minorities and figures linked to the former Assad regime, which it refers to as "remnants." The group's latest strike breaks a months-long lull in its reported operations.
"This attack underscores the persistent threat of extremist groups exploiting sectarian divisions," a regional security analyst told BBC Monitoring.
