At least eight people were killed in an explosion at a mosque used by Syria’s Alawite minority in Homs on Friday, state media said.
The blast is believed to be the first attack on a mosque since last year’s overthrow of longtime leader Bashar Assad, who is himself an Alawite.
Responsibility for the blast was claimed by an Islamic terrorist group formed soon after Assad was ousted from power.
what do we know?
The Interior Ministry described the blast at the Imam Ali Mosque in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, as a “terrorist bombing.”
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the mosque is primarily attended by members of the Alawite community.
State news agency SANA quoted a security source as saying that the blast was caused by explosives placed inside the mosque.
A government official said the devices detonated during a crowded Friday prayer meeting.
Photos released by SANA showed widespread destruction and blood stains inside the prayer hall.
In addition to the eight deaths, health ministry official Najib al-Nassan told SANA that 18 people were injured.
The official said the figures were not final, indicating the death toll could rise.
Islamic group took responsibility
A local security official told SANA that investigators have not yet identified the attacker or confirmed any ties to armed groups.
However, in a statement on Telegram, the Islamic militant group Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said later Friday that its fighters “detonated multiple explosive devices” at the mosque.
The group was formed after the ouster of Assad, who is a member of the Alawite community.
Syria has faced several incidents of sectarian bloodshed since Assad was ousted from power in a rebel attack last year and replaced by a Sunni-led interim government.
Following his ouster, Assad fled to Russia, and Alawite communities have since faced a series of repressions.
The Syrian government has recently stepped up security operations against Assad loyalists and the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
On December 19, the United States launched strikes against IS targets in Syria, not the Syrian state, in retaliation for an attack that killed two American soldiers and an interpreter a few days earlier.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko