Eight Killed in Homs Mosque Bomb Blast During Friday Prayers in Syria

At least eight worshippers were killed and 18 others injured on Friday when an explosion ripped through a mosque in the city of Homs.

The attack targeted the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood, an area primarily inhabited by the Alawite ethnoreligious group.

Images released by the state news agency, Sana, depicted a scene of devastation inside the mosque, with scorched walls, shattered windows, and blood-stained carpets. Security sources believe an explosive device was detonated inside the building during the height of Friday prayers.

The jihadist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah has claimed responsibility for the bombing, stating it collaborated with another unidentified group to plant the explosives. This extremist group, which first gained notoriety in June after a Damascus church bombing, is viewed by some analysts as a potential front for the Islamic State (IS) due to its targeting of religious minorities.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the blast as a "cowardly terrorist crime" aimed at destabilizing the country. This latest atrocity occurs exactly one year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, a period that has been marred by recurring waves of sectarian violence and reprisals against the Alawite community.