At least three dead and over a dozen injured in blast inside mosque during prayers in rebel-held Homs countryside.
Administration blames sleeper cells of former regime or ISIS; promises investigation.
Locals suspect internal rebel factional rivalry amid ongoing power struggles in post-Assad Syria.
At least three people were killed and more than a dozen injured when a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in Syria’s Homs province. The blast struck the Al-Nur Mosque in the northern rural area under control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied rebel factions during evening prayers.
Eyewitnesses reported a massive detonation inside the prayer hall, causing the roof and walls to partially collapse. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of three men and transported over a dozen wounded, including several women and children, to field hospitals and facilities in nearby towns. Medical sources described shrapnel wounds, burns and fractures among the casualties.
The HTS-led administration in Idlib and Homs quickly attributed the attack to “sleeper cells loyal to the former Assad regime or ISIS remnants,” vowing a thorough investigation and heightened security measures. However, several local activists and residents suggested the explosion could stem from internal rivalries among rebel groups competing for control of territory, checkpoints and aid routes in the Homs countryside.
The mosque serves a predominantly Sunni community and has been used as a centre for communal gatherings and humanitarian aid distribution in the war-ravaged region. The attack comes at a fragile moment in post-Assad Syria, where HTS is still consolidating power and preventing factional clashes in newly controlled areas.
No group has claimed responsibility. The incident has sparked fear of renewed violence in northern Syria as the country navigates a difficult transition under interim rebel governance.
