Deadly Mosque Blast in Homs Claims Eight Lives During Prayers

Sat Dec 27 2025 18:25:42 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

An explosion inside a mosque during Friday prayers in Homs, Syria has resulted in at least eight fatalities and numerous injuries. The attack, claimed by a jihadist group, raises concerns over rising sectarian violence in the region.

A tragic explosion in the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in Homs, Syria, has left at least eight dead and 18 others injured during Friday prayers. Reports indicate that the blast may have been caused by explosives planted inside. The jihadist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah has claimed responsibility. The incident underscores escalating sectarian tensions following the ousting of President Assad and targets the largely Alawite population in the area.

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, 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, a Sunni extremist group, claimed to have carried out the attack in collaboration with another unidentified group, using explosives planted at the site.

With vague origins, some observers speculated that Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah could be a front for the Islamic State group (IS) given similar messaging and target patterns.

The latest blast comes after months without claimed attacks from the group, which has previously focused on targeted killings of minorities and remnants of Assad's government.

This attack comes a year after Syrian rebel forces overthrew Assad, an Alawite, amidst rising sectarian violence in the country.

Since Assad's ousting, Alawites have faced reprisals and crackdowns. March saw accusations against security forces from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) for killing dozens of Alawites in Latakia.

}