DAMASCUS, Dec 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A deadly explosion hit a mosque in a  predominantly Alawite area of Syria's Homs on Friday, said authorities who  reported at least six people killed. "A terrorist explosion targeted the Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque during Friday  prayers in Al-Khadri Street in the Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood of Homs," the  interior ministry said in a statement, adding that six people were killed and  21 others wounded. Homs was the scene of heavy sectarian violence during Syria's civil war. Syria's state news agency SANA, which also reported the blast, said its cause  and nature were being investigated. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights monitor,  it was not immediately clear whether the blast "was caused by a suicide  attack or an explosive device". A local security source in Homs told AFP on condition of anonymity the  explosion may have been caused by "an explosive device placed inside the  mosque". A resident of the area, requesting anonymity out of fear for his safety, told  AFP people "heard a loud explosion, followed by chaos and panic in the  neighbourhood". "No one dares to leave their house, and we are hearing ambulance sirens," he  added. SANA published photos from inside the mosque, one of which showed a hole in a  wall. Black smoke covered part of the mosque, with carpets and books scattered  nearby. Homs city is home to a Sunni Muslim majority but also has several  predominantly Alawite areas. While most Syrians are Sunni, ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad belongs to the  Alawite community, whose faith stems from Shiite Islam. Since Assad's ouster in 2024, the Observatory and ordinary Syrians in Homs  have reported kidnappings and killings targeting members of the minority  community. Syria's coastal areas saw the massacre of Alawite civilians in March, with  authorities accusing armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by  attacking security forces. A national commission of inquiry said at least 1,426 members of the minority  community were killed at the time, while the Syrian Observatory for Human  Rights monitor put the toll at more than 1,700.