Deadly blast hits Alawite mosque in Syria's Homs

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00:00Worshippers were in the middle of Friday prayers when the blast rang out, a series of explosions

00:06that shattered walls and windows and killed several people.

00:11There was chaos and people were lying on the ground.

00:18Around 30 people were hit by the blast.

00:21Rescuers and ambulances arrived within five minutes to treat the wounded and deceased.

00:28The area was quickly cordoned off by security forces as investigators began collecting

00:34evidence.

00:35They said several explosive devices had been planted inside the mosque, which is located

00:40in an Alawit neighborhood in the Syrian city of Homs.

00:44Dozens of people were injured by the blast and were rushed to a nearby hospital.

00:49We had no idea what was happening.

00:54People started screaming and crying.

00:56I used my hand to try and stop the bleeding on my head.

01:02A group later claimed responsibility for the attack, Saraya Ansar al-Suna, an ultra-conservative

01:08Sunni organization formed after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in January.

01:13The militants had already claimed responsibility for a church bombing that killed 25 people

01:18in Damascus in June and have openly criticized Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, accusing him

01:25of renouncing his Salafist roots and of becoming an American agent since coming to power.

01:31Friday's attack was the latest in a series of sectarian clashes that have continued to destabilize

01:38Syria after Assad's departure.

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