Fourteen people have been killed by a car bomb that exploded outside a mosque in a pro-government district of the central city of Homs, Syrian state television reported.

The report says the bombing occurred as worshippers were leaving the Bilal al-Habshi mosque on the edge of Akrama after attending Friday prayers.

Syrian opposition activists confirmed the bomb attack in the predominantly Alawite district but had no immediate details on casualties.

Car bomb attacks targeting areas populated by Alawites, members of President Bashar Assad's minority sect, have been common, particularly in Homs in recent weeks.

Activists say more than 150,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it began in March 2011.

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