Having generally been out of the news for months following the Mar Elias church bombing in late June, the jihadist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, which is pro-Islamic State and claims to have originated as a break-off from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, has come back to prominence by claiming that it carried out an attack against Alawites at the ‘Imam Ali bin Abi Talib’ mosque in Wadi al-Dhahab, located in Homs.
According to the head of Alawite insurgent group ‘The Men of Light’, the mosque belonged to the Alawite community. In that case, the mosque itself is an example of the way that some Alawites have made their religious practices resemble ‘mainstream Islam’ more closely. Notably, the mosque’s entrance features the reference to Ali with the phrase ‘peace be upon him’ rather than ‘may God be pleased with him’- the former being more common among Shi‘a and the latter more common among Sunnis. This suggests that the mosque at least originally belonged to an Alawite institution.
Regardless of who was using the mosque at the time of the attack, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claims to have conducted the attack in order to target Alawites, whom the group regards as an ‘apostate’ sect with no right to life and property.
Below are the group’s statements on the attack and its justifications.
Dabiq News Foundation
Breaking: Homs
6 Rajab 1447 AH [26 December]
With granting of success from God Almighty, the mujahidin of Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, in cooperation with mujahidin from other groups, blew up a number of explosives in the ‘Ali bin Abi Talib’ temple of the Nusayris, leading to the killing and wounding of 40 Nusayris, and praise be to God. We also deny the reports circulated in media that the explosion targeted a mosque of the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jamaa [Sunnis]. We also issue the reminder that our attacks will continue to grow and will target all the disbelievers and apostates.
Saraya Ansar al-Sunna
Toll of targeting a temple of the Nusayris in Homs
Number of killed and wounded: 40
The targeted area: Homs- Imam Ali temple
Side targeted: Nusayri [Alawite] sect
Details of the incident
Rescue efforts: the civil defence teams hurried to take out the slain and injured of the Nusayris
Impacts of total destruction: the windows were destroyed, the rugs scattered, and the furniture in the temple was destroyed.
Destructive explosion: The explosion of IEDs inside the temple, leading to grave damage and collapse of part of the building.
Published originally on December 27, 2025.
