ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Three people were killed by a suicide bomb targeting a ceremony in Qamishlo, northern Syria to commemorate the massacre of Christians by the Ottoman army.
“The suicide attacker tried to enter the hall where people were gathered but was stopped by local security forces, and he detonated himself among them,” a security source at the scene told AFP.
The Sotoro security forces, a Christian militia based in Syria’s northeast, were providing security for the event, which was attended by the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ignatius Ephraim II, who it is believed was the target of the attack.
Local media reported that the Sotoro forces fired at the suicide bomber detonating the explosives before he could reach the hall. Three of the force members were killed.
Saleh Moslem, co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), tweeted his condolences. “We thank God for the safety of the Patriarch Ephraim II and wish compassion for our martyrs and the wounded a speedy recovery. We assure the oppressors that our brotherhood and our diversity is the victor.”
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“The suicide attacker tried to enter the hall where people were gathered but was stopped by local security forces, and he detonated himself among them,” a security source at the scene told AFP.
People had gathered in a local hall in Qamishlo to commemorate the Assyrian genocide, also known as the Sayfo massacre, carried out by the Ottoman army during the First World War. Contemporary estimates put the number killed in the Sayfo massacre at 250,000 though some sources believe as many as 750,000 were killed.
The Sotoro security forces, a Christian militia based in Syria’s northeast, were providing security for the event, which was attended by the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ignatius Ephraim II, who it is believed was the target of the attack.
Local media reported that the Sotoro forces fired at the suicide bomber detonating the explosives before he could reach the hall. Three of the force members were killed.
Saleh Moslem, co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), tweeted his condolences. “We thank God for the safety of the Patriarch Ephraim II and wish compassion for our martyrs and the wounded a speedy recovery. We assure the oppressors that our brotherhood and our diversity is the victor.”
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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