Sectarian violence intensifies in Syria: 8 dead and 18 injured when a bomb explodes in an Alawite mosque in Homs

The explosion took place during Friday noon prayer, the main one of the week, and, according to the first data of the investigation, The bomb was placed inside the temple, attached to the Alawite current of Islam, a minority branch of Shiism professed by the previous Syrian president, Bachar Al Asad, who was overthrown on December 8, 2024.

Although the Syrian Foreign Ministry attributed the attack to the Islamic State, Early Anar of the Quite, An ultra-conservative Syrian Sunni Muslim group claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channels. The terrorist group previously claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a Damascus church in June, which killed 20 people.

The Director of Emergencies of the Syrian Ministry of Health, Najib al-Naasan, told SANA that the number of victims is still preliminary.

The Alauta Supreme Islamic Council, a body that claims to represent Alawites in Syria and abroad, condemned what it called a Systematic campaign of murder, forced displacement, arrests and incitement against Alawites for more than a year.

He accused the Damascus authorities of responsibility and stated that the persistence of attacks could lead the country to collapse.

Countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Qatar, also condemned the attack.

Syria has been shaken by several episodes of sectarian violence since former leader Bashar al Assad, an Alawite, was overthrown by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a government led by members of the Sunni Muslim majority.

Earlier this month, two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria by an attacker described by authorities as a suspected member of the Islamic State, a violent Sunni Muslim group.