Deadly blasts kill 107 in Syria, IS claims responsibility

Damaged buses are seen at the site of two bomb blasts in the government-controlled city of Homs, Syria, in this handout picture provided by SANA on February 21, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

DAMASCUS - The Islamic State (IS) militant group has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombings, which rocked the central province of Homs and the capital Damascus on Sunday, killing over 107 people.

In online statements, the IS group said it had carried out the bombings in the 60-Street at the al-Zahra' neighborhood in the central province of Homs, which killed over 57 people and wounded tens of others.

Al-Zahra' is inhabited by people of the Alwaite minority, to whom the ruling elite in Syria belong, which explains why it was targeted by the IS group, which showed zero tolerance to other sects, let alone the sect that is accused of supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 39 of those killed in Homs were civilians, including a child and 11 women.

The UK-based watchdog group said the families in al-Zahra' kicked the governor of Homs, Talal al-Barazi, and the Interior Minister Muhammad al-Sha'ar, who wanted to visit the hard-hit neighborhood, in an apparent resentment over what the people may deem as government inaction toward tightening the security measure in al-Zahra', which seen several previous bombings, the latest of which took place last month when two bombings claimed by IS killed over 30 people.