Suicide bombing in Damascus church kills 22, Syrian authorities say
Source: The i Paper
At least 22 people have been killed after a suicide bombing at a church in Damascus, local media outlets have said, citing the Syrian health ministry.
More than 60 people were also injured in the incident, which occurred at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood, the state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) reported.
The attacker entered the church during a service and opened fire with a weapon before detonating an explosive vest, Syria’s interior ministry said.
The ministry claimed the suicide bomber was affiliated with the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
The group has not commented on the attack.
One eyewitness spoke to the AFP news agency outside the Greek Orthodox church, saying “someone entered carrying a weapon” and began shooting.
“[People] tried to stop him before he blew himself up,” he added.
The incident marks the first suicide bombing in Damascus since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces in December.
Syria’s government, led by former leaders of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been carrying out anti-IS raids throughout the country.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba said: “The security of places of worship is a red line.”
He accused IS and remaining members of the ousted Assad government of trying to destabilize Syria.
Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack in a post on X, saying: “This cowardly act goes against the civic values that bring us together.”
He added: “We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship — and we also affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organizations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.”
This story is being updated.
The original article: belongs to The i Paper .
