At least eight killed and 18 injured in Homs mosque explosion as Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claims responsibility in Syria.
mosque explosion, Homs, Syria news, Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah, sectarian violence, Alawite, mosque attack, Islamic State, SOHR

Homs Mosque Explosion: At Least Eight Killed in Syria Attack

Homs Mosque Explosion Kills At Least Eight During Friday Prayers

At least eight people were killed and 18 injured in a devastating Homs mosque explosion during Friday prayers, according to Syria’s Health Ministry.

Incident Details: What Happened Inside the Mosque?

The explosion occurred at the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the city of Homs. Photographs from Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reveal the aftermath: blackened, scorched walls, shattered windows, and pools of blood staining the carpets. Syrian officials, citing security sources, have stated that the blast was caused by an explosive device detonated inside the mosque.

The Area and Its People

The attack took place in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood, a district populated mainly by members of the Alawite community—a religious minority group in Syria and an offshoot of Shia Islam.

Responsibility and Reactions

While the authorities continue to search for suspects, the jihadist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah has claimed responsibility for the Homs mosque explosion. According to Syria’s Foreign Ministry on X, the attack was condemned as a “terrorist crime” and “a blatant assault on human and moral values” intended to undermine the country’s stability and security.

Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah, a Sunni extremist organization, announced that they collaborated with another unidentified group to carry out the attack, using explosives strategically planted at the mosque.

The group’s murky origins and previously alleged ties—such as their claim of responsibility for a deadly church bombing in Damascus—have led some observers to speculate that they could be a front organization for the Islamic State group (IS), given their similar rhetoric and selection of targets.

Context: Sectarian Violence and Rising Fears

The Homs mosque explosion comes a year after Syrian rebel forces ousted Bashar al-Assad, the former president and an Alawite. Since Assad’s overthrow and subsequent asylum in Russia, Syria has experienced repeated waves of sectarian violence, with fears of reprisals among Alawite communities and reports of government crackdowns against them.

For example, in March, security forces were accused of killing dozens of Alawites in Latakia province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an internationally recognized monitoring group that closely tracks the conflict.

About Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah

Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah has a history of targeting minorities and those connected to the former Syrian government, typically using bombings and targeted killings. However, their infrequent attacks and obscured affiliations have generated skepticism about their capabilities and associations within Syria’s complex militant landscape.

Conclusion

This latest Homs mosque explosion underscores ongoing instability and the persistent threat of sectarian violence in Syria. Continued attacks have left communities, particularly minorities such as the Alawites, vulnerable to both violence and political upheaval.

Additional reporting by BBC Monitoring.

Deadly explosion during Friday prayers inside Syrian mosque