BEIRUT (AP) — An explosion at a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs during Friday prayers killed at least six people and wounded 21 others, authorities said.
Images published by Syria's state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque's carpets, holes in the walls, broken windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque is located in the predominantly Alawite area of the Wadi al-Dhahab district in Homs, Syria's third largest city.
SANA, citing a security source, reported that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities are looking for the perpetrators of the attack. A security cordon was established around the mosque, the Syrian Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Tensions have flared in several parts of Syria in recent weeks as long-standing sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue to destabilize the country even as large-scale fighting has subsided.
The country has seen several waves of sectarian violence since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last year following attacks by rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Assad, an Alawite himself, fled the country to Russia. Members of his sect were subjected to repression. In March, an ambush by Assad loyalists against security forces sparked days of sectarian attacks that killed hundreds of people, most of them Alawites.
Clashes between Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces militants flared intermittently on Monday in mixed neighborhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, leading to the temporary closure of schools and government offices and forcing civilians to hide in their homes. Both sides announced a ceasefire late last night as de-escalation efforts continued.
