Eight killed during prayer in terrorist bombing of mosque in Homs, Syria
Ghaith Alsayed And Sally Abou Aljoud
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.
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.
An ambush on security forces by Assad supporters in March triggered days of violence that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, mostly Alawites.
The Supreme Alevi Islamic Council for Syria and Diaspora described the attack as “a continuation of organized extremist terrorism, specifically targeting the Alawite community and increasingly other Syrian groups.”
The council found the Syrian government “fully and directly responsible for these crimes” and said “these criminal acts will not go unanswered.”
Local authorities condemned Friday’s attack, saying it took place “in the context of repeated desperate attempts to undermine security and stability and create chaos among the Syrian people.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Syria reiterates its determined stance in the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism.”
The Syrian information minister said in a post on
The mosque’s deputy imam told Syrian state television that worshipers were praying when they heard a loud explosion that knocked us to the ground. “A fire broke out in a corner of the mosque. Those of us who were not injured ran to take the injured out. General security forces and the Red Crescent arrived within a few minutes.”
“The explosion was huge. The windows of the mosque were broken and a fire broke out, and copies of the Holy Quran were burned.”
Neighboring countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon also condemned the attack.
The French government said it condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms”.
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