An explosion has killed at least eight people and injured 18 others during Friday prayers inside a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs, the health ministry has said.
Pictures from Syria's state-run news agency, Sana, show the inside of the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque with black, scorched walls, smashed windows and blood on the carpet.
Officials believe that an explosive was detonated inside the building, Sana reports, citing a security source. While authorities are still searching for the perpetrators, jihadist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for the explosion.
The mosque is located in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood, home to many members of the Alawite ethnoreligious group.
Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the terrorist crime, stating that the cowardly act is a blatant assault on human and moral values aimed at undermining the security and stability of the country. Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah has claimed that it carried out the attack with another unidentified group, using explosives planted at the site.
Some observers speculate that Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah may be a front for the Islamic State group, given similarities in their messaging and target selection. The attack follows a lull in the group's claimed assaults, which have previously included targeted killings of minorities and remnants of the former Syrian government.
The blast occurred about a year after Syrian rebel forces overthrew Assad, who is from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam. This change has resulted in fears of sectarian reprisals against the Alawite community, intensifying ongoing violence and unrest throughout Syria.
