Eight killed during prayer in terrorist bombing of mosque in Homs, Syria
Idlib, Syria: Officials stated that at least eight people were killed and 18 people were injured in a bomb attack on a mosque during Friday prayers in Homs, Syria. Even as large-scale conflict subsides, long-standing sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue to destabilize the country, officials said.
Images published by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency (SANA) showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque is located in the Vadi al-Zehab neighborhood, dominated by the Alawite minority, in Homs, the third largest city of Syria.
Damage was caused by the explosion in the mosque in Homs, Syria.Credit: Syrian Arab News Agency
SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations showed that explosives were placed inside the mosque. The Syrian Ministry of Internal Affairs said authorities were searching for the perpetrators, who have not yet been identified, and a security cordon had been placed around the building.
A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar Al Sunne claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on its Telegram channel. The group had previously claimed responsibility for the incident. Suicide attack in June25 people were killed when a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, outside Damascus.
The Syrian government blamed a cell of the Islamic State group for Friday’s church attack and said ISIS also planned to target a Shiite Muslim shrine. ISIS did not claim responsibility for the attack. The group follows an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and considers Shiites to be heretics.
Syria recently joined the global coalition against ISIS and has launched a crackdown on ISIS cells, particularly following this month’s attack on American forces that left two soldiers and a civilian translator dead.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric emphasized that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “unequivocally condemned the deadly terrorist attack” and that those responsible must be identified and brought to justice. The UN chief also noted Syria’s determination to fight terrorism and hold perpetrators accountable.
Syria has experienced several waves of sectarian conflict since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad last year. Assad, himself an Alawite, fled the country to Russia. Members of his sect were subjected to repression.
