STORY: "In this catastrophe of an earthquake, a lot of buildings were destroyed - among them was the mosque that was totally destroyed, " said the imam, Adel Al-Shaykh, adding that they had prayed outdoors ever since the earthquake struck on February 6.

The head of the village council said the mosque was among the 200 buildings destroyed in the earthquake that killed 34 residents.

The death toll from the tremors in Syria, a nation already shattered by war, is close to 6,000 - while the toll in neighboring Turkey stands at more than 43,500 people.