ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Twenty people were killed and 52 others injured in a suicide bombing that targeted Mar Elias Church in Damascus on Sunday, according to Syrian authorities.
The Syrian health ministry confirmed in a statement that "nine civilians were killed and 13 others were injured in the terrorist attack that targeted Mar Elias Church in the Dweilaa area of Damascus."
In a separate statement, the Syrian interior ministry elaborated that “a suicide bomber affiliated with the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) had entered the church, where he [first] opened fire before detonating an explosive vest strapped to his body.
“Security units quickly rushed to the scene, completely cordoned off the area, and specialized teams began collecting evidence and investigating the circumstances of the attack,” the interior ministry added.
An hour earlier, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) cited a “security source” confirming that “casualties fell to the terrorist attack” that targeted the church.
SANA added that ambulances rushed to the scene to transport the injured and the deceased to nearby medical facilities. Internal security forces have since cordoned off the area and launched an investigation.
Meanwhile, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the casualties were primarily “civilians who were inside the church at the time of the explosion” which “caused panic among them.
Mar Elias Church is regarded as one of the most prominent Christian places of worship in rural Damascus. It holds deep spiritual and historical significance for Syria’s Christian community and frequently hosts both religious and social gatherings, particularly on Sundays and during holidays.
According to SOHR, the attack “comes amid renewed fears of attempts to destabilize sectarian coexistence” in Damascus and its surrounding regions
Following a swift offensive in December, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), headed by Sharaa, toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad. In late January, Sharaa was appointed Syria’s interim president and has since been scrambling to maintain a tight grip on security.
This is not the first such incident since Assad’s fall.
In mid-May, three people were killed and several others injured in an explosion caused by a vehicle rigged with explosives in the Deir ez-Zor countryside of eastern Syria.
Updated at 8:10 pm
