Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
A bomb exploded in a mosque in a Syrian city chiefs of mission At least eight people were killed and 18 others were injured during Friday prayers, officials said.
Pictures released 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 Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood, an area dominated by the Alawite minority in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city.
SANA, citing a security source, said preliminary investigations indicated that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators of the attack. Security cordon imposed around Syrian mosque interior Ministry Said in a statement.
Tension has risen in many parts of Syria in recent weeks as long-standing sectarian, ethnic and political faultlines continue to destabilize the country, even as large-scale fighting has subsided.
The country has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of President bashar asad Last year. Assad, himself an Alawite, fled the country to Russia. Action has been taken against members of his sect.
In March, an ambush by Assad’s supporters against security forces led to several days of violence, killing hundreds of people, the majority of whom were Alawites.
Local officials condemned Friday’s attack, saying it occurred “in the context of continued desperate efforts to undermine security and stability and create chaos among the Syrian people.”
“Syria reiterates its firm stance in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The remnants of the former regime, ISIS terrorists and allies have converged on a single goal: to hinder the path of the new state by undermining stability, endangering civil peace and destroying shared co-existence and common destiny. Syrian Throughout history, the Syrian information minister said in a post on X.
Neighboring countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon also condemned the attack. In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed “Lebanon’s support for Syria in the fight against terrorism.”
On Monday, intermittent clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and Kurdish-led fighters, the Syrian Democratic Forces, in mixed neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo, forcing the temporary closure of schools and public institutions and forcing civilians to shelter indoors. A ceasefire was announced by both sides late in the evening amid ongoing efforts to reduce tensions.