Islamic State bombing kills two dozen in Syria's Homs

Damascus: A double suicide bombing killed at least 22 people Tuesday in the central Syrian city of Homs, state media said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

State television said another 100 people were wounded in the blasts in the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood of the city, which has been targeted in bomb attacks multiple times before.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, put the toll at 26 dead, including 16 members of regime forces.

Homs provincial governor Talal Barazi told AFP the two bombers appeared to have pulled up at an army checkpoint in a car together.

He said one exited the vehicle before the other detonated his explosives while still inside.

In the chaos of the first blast`s aftermath, and as a crowd gathered, the second bomber struck, Barazi added.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the second suicide bomber had been wearing military clothes.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed the attack in a statement circulated online, though it described the blast as the work of a single suicide bomber.

The Al-Zahraa district of Homs has been targeted in multiple bomb attacks in the past, including in late December, when 19 people were killed in several simultaneous blasts.

The residents of Al-Zahraa are mostly Alawites, the minority sect of Syria`s ruling clan, and IS has in the past claimed attacks on the district.

Homs city was once dubbed the "capital" of Syria`s uprising, which began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

But after years of devastating fighting and government sieges, most of the city is now back in regime hands, with the exception of the Waer district, which is being gradually turned over to the government under a deal with opposition fighters.