Hundreds of mourners in the Syrian city of Homs on Saturday attended the funeral of victims of a deadly mosque bombing, as calls for unity rang out.
Eight people were killed and 18 were injured in the explosion at the Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib Mosque in the mostly Alawite Wadi Al Zahab neighbourhood.
Authorities have not yet announced responsibility for the attack, as investigations continue. However, the attack was claimed by an Islamist militant group called Saraya Ansar Al Sunnah in a statement posted on Telegram. The group said its fighters “detonated a number of explosive devices” in the mosque, and that the attack was aimed at Alawites.
The group also claimed responsibility for a church bombing in Damascus in June that killed 25 people, though authorities blamed the extremist group ISIS.
Five of the victims were laid to rest at Al Firdous cemetery in Homs, while the bodies of the remaining victims were transferred to their hometowns in other parts of the country for burial, according to state media.
The funeral procession drew large crowds of residents, alongside official and community representatives, who stressed unity in the face of what they described as attempts to spread chaos and sectarian strife.
Speaking during the funeral, Sheikh Mohieddine Salloum, the imam and preacher of the attacked mosque, said the bombing was a “desperate attempt” by Syria’s enemies to undermine national unity and destabilise the country.
“These criminal acts will not weaken Syrians’ faith in civil peace,” he said, adding that national unity remained “the most powerful weapon” against terrorism.
The bombing, which struck the mosque on Saturday, led to widespread condemnation at the Arab, regional and international levels, with calls for accountability and renewed warnings over the threat posed by extremists.
Homs was the scene of heavy sectarian violence during Syria's civil war, which began in 2011. The bombing in Wadi Al Zahab comes as the Syrian government and the US increase operations against ISIS.
The US launched large-scale strikes in Syria earlier this month, after two US soldiers and an interpreter were killed in Palmyra by a gunman said to be a renegade member of the security forces who was affiliated with ISIS.
The country has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian violence since rebels led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham toppled the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad.
Hundreds of Alawites, including civilians, were killed in the community's coastal heartland during clashes between troops affiliated with the new government and what authorities described as loyalists of the former regime. In July, fighting broke out in the southern province of Sweida, home to the minority Druze community.
