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IS attack near hospital in Syria's Homs kills 16, wounds dozens

12 December 2015 21:24 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A powerful car bomb exploded near a hospital in the central Syrian city of Homs Saturday, killing 16 people and wounding dozens, the provincial governor and a monitoring group said, APA reports quoting AFP.

The Islamic State group in a statement said it was behind the attack, and said it consisted of a car bombing and a suicide bomber blowing himself up.

Governor Talal Barazi said the attack near the Al-Ahli hospital, in the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood where most residents belong to the same Alawite sect as President Bashar al-Assad, killed 16 people.

Another 54 were wounded, some seriously, and being treated at hospitals throughout the city.

The vehicle used in the attack had been carrying at least 150 kilos (330 pounds) of explosives, Barazi added.

In its statement, the jihadist IS named the bomber as Abu Ahmed al-Homsi, and said he parked the car and detonated it before then activating his explosives belt.

IS said the toll from the attack was more than 25 dead, with 70 wounded.

Firefighters, security forces and dozens of other men packed into the residential street where the blast occurred, searching for victims and seeking to rescue the injured.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said 16 people were killed and dozens wounded, adding that some were in critical condition.

The attack comes just three days after hundreds of rebel fighters and civilians were evacuated from the city following a deal with the regime.

The deal, overseen by the United Nations, will see Homs' last rebel-held neighbourhood, Waer, turned over to government forces in exchange for humanitarian aid for besieged residents.