Explosion at Alawite mosque in Syria's Homs kills eight

Eight people were killed in an explosion at a mosque of the Alawite minority sect in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

SANA cited Syrian Health Ministry official Najib al-Naasan as saying 18 others were wounded and that the figures were not final, indicating they could rise.

The city's press office said an explosive device had detonated inside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib mosque and that security forces had cordoned off the area. A local security official told SANA that the identity of the perpetrator and any affiliation to violent groups were still unknown.

Local official Issam Naameh told Reuters the blast occurred during Friday noon prayers.

Syria's foreign ministry condemned the blast as a "terrorist crime". Regional countries including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Qatar also condemned the attack. 

Syrian state media SANA published footage of rescuers and security forces examining debris splayed across the mosque's green carpet.

Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian violence since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a government led by members of the Sunni Muslim majority.

Earlier this month, two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria by an attacker described by the authorities as a suspected member of the Islamic State, a violent Sunni Muslim group.