Dhaka, Dec. 27 -- A deadly explosion hit a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Syria's Homs on Friday, said authorities who reported at least six people killed.

"A terrorist explosion targeted the Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque during Friday prayers in Al-Khadri Street in the Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood of Homs," the interior ministry said in a statement, adding that six people were killed and 21 others wounded.

Homs was the scene of heavy sectarian violence during Syria's civil war.Syria's state news agency SANA, which also reported the blast, said its cause and nature were being investigated.

According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights monitor, it was not immediately clear whether the blast "was caused by a sui...