Bombing in Alawi mosque in Syrian city of Homs kills at least eight

At least eight people were killed and 18 others injured in a bomb attack on an Alawi mosque in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday.

Syria's state news agency Sana said the explosion took place at the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dahab area of the central city.

Interior ministry officials told the agency that security officers were investigating the blast to track down those responsible.

Government sources said the bombing was caused by an explosive device planted inside the mosque.

According to Al Jazeera, the mosque is affiliated with the Alawi sect of Islam, a substantial minority within Syria's majority Muslim population.

The attack comes a year after the fall of Damascus to Syrian rebel forces led by the current president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Sharaa overthrew Bashar al-Assad, who belonged to the Alawi sect and fled to Russia after his government collapsed last year.

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While Syrian security forces have battled Alawi militias still loyal to the former government over the past year, the wider community and other minorities in Syria are subject to attacks by the Islamic State group (IS).

The group was thoroughly defeated in 2017 after attempting to establish a "caliphate" in Syria and Iraq in 2014, but small remnants have regrouped and continue to operate in the country.

Since the fall of Assad, IS has dedicated its efforts to destabilising the government led by Sharaa, often by attacking minorities.

The Syrian civil war began in 2011 after government forces loyal to Assad brutally suppressed popular protests against his rule.

Over 13 years of conflict, half of the country was displaced, with millions of Syrians fleeing to Turkey, Europe and nearby Arab states.

The death toll, while unconfirmed, is believed to exceed half a million Syrians.