Mosque bombing in Syria leaves 8 dead, 18 wounded

Mosque bombing in Syria leaves 8 dead, 18 wounded Idlib, Dec 27 (AP) A bombing at a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others, authorities said, as long-standing sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue to destabilise the country, even as large-scale fighting has subsided. Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque is located in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, in an area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighbourhood dominated by the Alawite minority. Recommended Stories SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators, who have not yet been identified, and a security cordon was placed around the building, Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement. A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel. The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June, in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweila, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday. The Syrian government blamed the church attack on a cell of the Islamic State group, saying IS had also planned to target a Shiite Muslim shrine. IS did not claim responsibility for the attack. The group follows an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and considers Shiites to be infidels. Syria recently joined the global coalition against IS and has launched a crackdown on IS cells, particularly after an attack on US forces earlier this month that killed two service members and a civilian translator. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “unequivocally condemns the deadly terrorist attack", and stresses that those responsible must be identified and brought to justice, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The UN chief also noted Syria’s commitment to combat terrorism and hold perpetrators accountable. Targeted violence against Alawites The country has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of President Bashar Assad last year. Assad, himself an Alawite, fled the country to Russia. Members of his sect have been subjected to crackdowns. In March, an ambush carried out by Assad’s supporters against security forces triggered days of violence that left hundreds of people dead, most of them Alawites. In a statement, the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the Diaspora described the attack as “a continuation of the organised extremist terrorism specifically targeting the Alawite community, and increasingly other Syrian groups as well". The council held the Syrian government “fully and directly responsible for these crimes", adding that “these criminal acts will not go unanswered". Local officials condemned Friday’s attack, saying it came “within the context of repeated desperate attempts to undermine security and stability and sow chaos among the Syrian people". “Syria reiterates its firm...

Preview: ~500 words