8 people were killed and 18 were injured when an Islamic bomb was detonated in Syria
A bomb blast at a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 18, authorities said.
Pictures released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on mosque carpets, holes in walls, broken windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque is located in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood owned by the Alawite minority in Homs, Syria’s third largest city.
SANA, quoting a security source, said that initial investigations indicated that explosives had been planted inside the mosque. Authorities are looking for those who carried out the attack. A cordon has been placed around the mosque, the Syrian Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Tensions have flared in many parts of Syria in recent weeks as long-standing sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue. demoralizing the countryeven when the main fighting has subsided. The US make strikes this past week after ambushes of ISIS fighters he killed two American soldiers and an American citizen working as an interpreter.
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The country has experienced several waves of sectarian conflict since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last year. Assad, also an Alawite, fled to Russia. Members of his sect have faced abuse.
In March, attacks by Assad supporters against security forces sparked violence that killed hundreds of people, mostly Alawis.
Local officials condemned Friday’s attack, saying it took place “in the midst of repeated attempts to undermine security and stability and sow chaos among the Syrian people.”
“Syria reiterates its firm stance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the Foreign Ministry added in a statement.
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“The remnants of the former regime, ISIS fighters and collaborators have united in one goal: to block the path of the new world by destabilizing it, threatening public peace, and destroying the shared coexistence and common destiny of Syrians throughout history,” said the Syrian information minister in a post on X.
Neighboring countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon also condemned the attack. In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed “Lebanon’s support to Syria in the fight against terrorism.”
On Monday, clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led fighters, the Syrian Democratic Forces, in mixed areas of the northern city of Aleppo, forcing the temporary closure of schools and public facilities and forcing residents to seek shelter in their homes. An evening ceasefire was then announced by both sides amid continued efforts to de-escalate.
