BEIRUT — A deadly explosion has hit a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Syria’s Homs, during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 21 others, authorities said.
“A terrorist explosion targeted the Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque during Friday prayers in Al-Khadri Street in the Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood dominated by the Alawite minority in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city.
Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage.
SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators of the attack. A security cordon was placed around the mosque, Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Tensions have flared across several parts of Syria in recent weeks as long-running sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue to destabilise the country, even as large-scale fighting has subsided.
The country has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of President Bashar Assad last year. Assad, himself an Alawite, fled the country to Russia. Members of his sect have been subjected to crackdowns.
In March, an ambush carried out by Assad’s supporters against security forces triggered days of violence that left hundreds of people dead, most of them Alawites.
Local officials condemned Friday’s attack, saying it came “within the context of repeated desperate attempts to undermine security and stability and sow chaos among the Syrian people.”
“Syria reiterates its firm stance in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added in a statement.
Neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon, also condemned the attack. In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed “Lebanon’s support for Syria in its fight against terrorism.” — Agencies
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Photo: Syrian security forces inspect the damage after an explosion in the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood in Homs, Syria, on Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. — AP
