DAMASCAS
\nA deadly explosion hit a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Syria\u2019s Homs on Friday, said authorities who reported at least six people killed.\u201dA terrorist explosion targeted the Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque during Friday prayers in Al-Khadri Street in the Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood of Homs,\u201d the interior ministry said in a statement, adding that six people were killed and 21 others wounded.
\nHoms was the scene of heavy sectarian violence during Syria\u2019s civil war.Syria\u2019s state news agency Sana, which also reported the blast, said its cause and nature were being investigated.According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, it was not immediately clear whether the blast \u201cwas caused by a suicide attack or an explosive device\u201d.
\nA local security source in Homs told media on condition of anonymity that the explosion may have been caused by \u201can explosive device placed inside the mosque\u201d.\u201dNo one dares to leave their house, and we are hearing ambulance sirens,\u201d he added.Sana published photos from inside the mosque, one of which showed a hole in a wall.
\nBlack smoke covered part of the mosque, with carpets and books scattered nearby. Since Assad\u2019s ouster in 2024, the Observatory and ordinary Syrians in Homs have reported kidnappings and killings targeting members of the minority community.
\nSyria\u2019s coastal areas saw the massacre of Alawite civilians in March, with authorities accusing armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking security forces.
\nA national commission of inquiry said at least 1,426 members of the minority community were killed at the time, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor put the toll at more than 1,700.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DAMASCAS A deadly explosion hit a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Syria\u2019s Homs on Friday, said authorities who reported at least six people killed.\u201dA terrorist explosion targeted the Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque during Friday prayers in Al-Khadri Street in the Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood of Homs,\u201d the interior ministry said in a statement, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-522332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n