An explosion hit worshippers at a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Syria's Homs on Friday, state media said, killing at least eight in the latest attack on the minority community.

The blast is the second in a place of worship since Islamist authorities took charge of the country a year ago, after a suicide bombing in a Damascus church killed 25 people in June.

State news agency SANA reported "an explosion inside the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood" in Homs city.

Quoting a health ministry official, SANA gave a preliminary toll of at least eight dead and 18 wounded.

Syria's interior ministry said in a statement that "a terrorist explosion" targeted the mosque "during Friday prayers".

Homs was the scene of heavy sectarian violence during Syria's civil war.

The ministry imposed a security cordon around the mosque, saying that authorities "have begun investigating and collecting evidence to pursue the perpetrators of this criminal act".

Syria's foreign ministry called the bombing a "desperate attempt" to destabilise the country.

In a statement, the ministry condemned "this cowardly criminal act", and reiterated its "firm stance in combating terrorism in all its forms", stressing that "such crimes will not deter the Syrian state from continuing its efforts to consolidate security, protect citizens, and hold those involved accountable".

SANA quoted a security source as saying "initial investigations indicate that the explosion... was caused by explosive devices planted inside the mosque".

A resident of the area, requesting anonymity out of fear for his safety, told AFP people "heard a loud explosion, followed by chaos and panic in the neighbourhood".

"No one dares to leave their house, and we are hearing ambulance sirens," he added.

SANA published photos from inside the mosque, one of which showed a hole in a wall.

Black smoke covered part of the mosque, with carpets and books scattered nearby.

Homs city is home to a Sunni Muslim majority but also has several predominantly Alawite areas.

While most Syrians are Sunni, ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad belongs to the Alawite community, whose faith stems from Shiite Islam.

Since Assad's fall in 2024, the Observatory and residents in Homs province have reported kidnappings and killings targeting members of the minority community.

Late last month, thousands of people demonstrated on the Alawite coast in protest at fresh attacks targeting the minority community in Homs and other regions.

Syria's coastal areas saw the massacre of Alawite civilians in March, with authorities accusing armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking security forces.

A national commission of inquiry said at least 1,426 members of the minority community were killed at the time, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor put the toll at more than 1,700.

The Observatory, witnesses and rights groups reported that security forces and allied groups committed massacres and "field executions" during the three-day violence.

Human rights groups and international organisations have said entire families were killed, including women, children and the elderly. (AFP)