Protesters clash in Syria after deadly Alawite mosque bombing

Clashes broke out on Syria’s coast between protesters from the Alawite religious minority and counterdemonstrators on Sunday, two days after a bombing at an Alawite mosque in the city of Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 others during prayers. A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates. Sunday’s demonstrations were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite sheikh living outside of Syria who heads a group called the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the Diaspora.