Mosque bombing in Syria leaves 8 dead, several wounded
Beirut: A bombing at a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others, authorities said, as long-standing sectarian, ethnic and political fault lines continue to destabilize the country, even as large-scale fighting has subsided. Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque is located in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, in an area of the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood dominated by the Alawite minority. SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque.
At least 15 injured in knife and chemical attack in Japan
Tokyo: A man was arrested after stabbing eight people and injuring seven others with what was believed to be bleach at a rubber factory in central Japan on Friday, officials said. Eight people were taken to hospitals after being stabbed by the man with a knife at the Yokohama Rubber Company in the city of Mishima, in the Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo, according to the Fujisan Nanto Fire Department. The department told The Associated Press that five of the people who were stabbed were in serious condition but other details were not available.