A suicide bomber in Syria on Sunday detonated himself inside a Greek Orthodox church filled with people, killing at least 15, according to early reports.
The explosion in Dweil’a on the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church, injuring more than 50 worshippers, according to some reports.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that the Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were at least 19 people killed. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.
Later Sunday, Syria state media reported 20 dead.
AP also reported:
No group immediately claimed responsibility Sunday, but the Syrian Interior Ministry said an extremist from the Islamic State group entered the church, fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosives vest, echoing some witness testimonies.
However, Meletius Shahati, a church priest, told the AP there was a second gunman who shot at the church door before the other person detonated himself.
The attack was the first of its kind in Syria in years, according to the New York Post. It comes as Damascus, under its de facto Islamist rule, is trying to win the support of minorities.
As President Ahmed al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of extremist group sleeper cells in the war-torn country, an Aljazeera account of the bombing noted.
Syrian Information Minister Hamzah Almustafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack, in a post interpreted on X.
“This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together,” he said. “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.”
Al-Sharaa, who led the offensive against Bashar al-Assad before taking over in January for a transitional phase, has repeatedly said he will protect minorities during his tenure, the Jerusalem Post noted.
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