Syria: Eight Killed in Jihadist Attack on Alawite Mosque

Image: Jihad Watch

At least eight people were killed after a powerful explosion ripped through the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in Homs on Friday, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA. The mosque is located in an area predominantly inhabited by members of the Alawite community.

Citing Syrian Health Ministry official Najib al-Naasan, SANA reported that at least 18 others were injured in the blast. Authorities cautioned that these numbers are preliminary and could rise as rescue teams continue to assess the situation and hospitals receive more casualties.

Security forces swiftly sealed off the surrounding area following the explosion, Homs city’s press office said, as investigators moved in to secure the site and determine the full scale of the damage. Eyewitness accounts and initial reports indicated heightened chaos and panic in the immediate aftermath of the blast.

Local official Issam Naameh stated that the explosion occurred during Friday noon prayers, typically the busiest time of the week for mosques, suggesting that the attack was timed to inflict maximum casualties.

An Islamist militant group, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, later claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Telegram. The group said its fighters had “detonated a number of explosive devices” inside the mosque. Saraya Ansar al-Sunna emerged following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has previously claimed involvement in a deadly attack on a church in Damascus in June, raising concerns over escalating sectarian violence in the country.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)