Iran condemns deadly terrorist attack on worshippers in Syria
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a statement on Saturday strongly condemned a deadly terrorist attack on worshippers at a mosque in Syria’s Homs Province, calling for the punishment of perpetrators.
Baqaei emphasized the responsibility of all parties that, through illegal interventions, including violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the occupation of parts of the Arab country, had created conditions for the continued existence and spread of terrorism and extremism.
The official was referring to continued military intervention in Syria by the Israeli regime and the United States.
Israel has egregiously escalated its strikes against Syria’s civilian and defensive infrastructures and expanded the areas under its occupation there under the pretext of preventing spillover of violence from the Arab country into the occupied territories.
The US has also recently begun striking targets allegedly belonging to the Daesh terrorist group in Syria amid speculations about Washington’s seeking to reestablish significant military presence across the country.
The Iranian official called for identification and punishment of the perpetrators of the Friday attack.
At least eight people were killed and 18 others were injured in an explosion targeting the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Syrian city of Homs, the country’s health ministry said.
Pictures from Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, showed the inside of the 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, terrorist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah said it was behind the explosion. The group had previously claimed responsibility for a church bombing in Damascus in June.
The mosque is in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood, where most people are part of the Alawite ethnoreligious group.