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 said it was behind the explosion.
The mosque is in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighbourhood, where most people are part of the Alawite ethnoreligious group.
Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the terrorist crime, writing in a statement on X that the cowardly act is a blatant assault on human and moral values designed to undermine the security and stability of the country.
Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah, a Sunni extremist group, has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was carried out in collaboration with another unidentified group, using explosives planted at the site.
The group's vague origins and opaque affiliations, which came into prominence in June when it claimed a deadly church bombing in Damascus, have raised questions about its true links and authenticity. Some observers speculate it could be a front for the Islamic State group (IS) given the similarity in their messaging and type of targets.
The blast follows a months-long lull in Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah's claimed attacks, which have primarily involved targeted killings of minorities and alleged remnants of the former Syrian government.
The attack underscores the persistent sectarian violence in Syria, especially against the Alawite community following the civil conflict that has led to numerous reprisal attacks.
In March, security forces were accused of killing dozens of Alawites in the coastal province of Latakia, war monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.
