Syria civil war: Deadly blast hits Latakia mosque

At least two people have been killed and eight injured after a suicide bomb attack at a mosque in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, state media has said.

Thursday’s explosion took place as people were leaving the Khulafa Rashideen mosque following afternoon prayers, state TV said.

Official news agency SANA quoted a senior police source as saying two people were killed when the attacker blew himself up while riding his motorcycle in the coastal city. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said three people had been killed in the attack.

The coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus have been government strongholds since the country’s conflict began in 2011.

A string of car bombs and suicide attacks in Latakia and the nearby city of Jableh late last month killed at least 148 people.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group claimed the attacks that hit a hospital entrance, a bus station and other places.