DAMASCUS, Dec 26: At least eight people were killed and 21 others wounded when a bomb exploded at a mosque in Syria’s Homs city during Friday prayers, authorities said.
The blast occurred at the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque located in a predominantly Alawite area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city. Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage.
Preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque, according to a security source cited by SANA. The blast took place during Friday noon prayers, typically the busiest time for mosques. Security forces have cordoned off the area and authorities are searching for the perpetrators.
Syria’s foreign ministry condemned “this cowardly criminal act”, saying it came “in the context of repeated desperate attempts to undermine security and stability and spread chaos among the Syrian people”. The ministry reiterated its “firm stance in combating terrorism in all its forms”, stressing that “such crimes will not deter the Syrian state from continuing its efforts to consolidate security, protect citizens, and hold those involved accountable”.
Tensions have flared across several parts of Syria in recent weeks as long-running sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue to destabilize the country. The nation has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of President Bashar Assad last year in attacks by insurgents led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Assad, himself an Alawite, fled to Russia, and members of his sect have been subjected to crackdowns.
