An explosion struck the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood of Homs during Friday prayers, killing at least six people and wounding 21, Syrian authorities said, as security forces sealed off the area and opened an investigation into what state media described as an apparent bombing in a predominantly Alawite district.
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency, citing a security source, reported that preliminary findings indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Images carried by SANA showed blood on the carpets, damage to walls, shattered windows, and burn marks. The Interior Ministry said a security cordon was imposed around the site while investigators searched for those responsible.
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Unverified claims circulated online attributing the attack to Ansar al-Sunna, a jihadist extremist faction that has previously threatened Alawite-majority areas in Homs and along Syria’s coast. No official statement confirmed responsibility.
The bombing came as tensions have risen in parts of Syria following the fall of President Bashar Assad last year and the transition to interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with sectarian fault lines resurfacing even as large-scale fighting has eased. Assad, an Alawite, fled to Russia, and members of his sect have faced crackdowns and reprisals. Earlier this year, an ambush by Assad loyalists against security forces helped ignite days of retaliatory attacks that killed hundreds, many of them Alawites.
Separately, clashes also flared this week in Aleppo between Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, before both sides announced a late-evening ceasefire.