13th-century mosque hit in Homs fighting 5-14-13

REAL-TIME HIT: A rocket hits the historic Khaled bin al-Waleed mosque in al-Khalediya neighborhood in northwestern Homs. The damage is not immediately clear. The video commentator says the mosque was hit during clashes on Monday as the army attempted and failed to enter the Jouret a-Shayah neighborhood, two blocks away.

The Syrian state media agency SANA said army forces pursued “terrorists” in that area, without mentioning the mosque.

The mosque of Khaled bin al-Waleed was built in the 13^th century and then rebuilt during the Ottoman era in the 19^th century. The mosque has nine entry gates, two slim minarets and nine domes. It was named after Khaled bin al-Waleed (592–642), the great Arab military general and companion of the Muslim prophet Muhammad who conquered the Roman Syria. Muhammad called him “God’s Drawn Sword.”  The bombed mosque is the home of his grave.

A number of historic sites and mosques have been damaged in Syria’s civil war, including the Ancient Mosque of Barzeh in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo, and al-Omari Mosque in Daraa, one of the first places the uprising began in March 2011.Video courtesy of abogmal homsi YouTube channel.