A suicide bomb attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus today killed at least 20 people, say Syrian authorities who blamed members of the jihadist group Islamic State for it.
The United Nations and several countries condemned the attack, the first of its kind in Damascus since forces led by radical Islamists overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024.
Security remains one of the biggest challenges for the new Syrian authorities, which the international community has called upon to protect minorities and include them in the transition process.
The Ministry of Interior announced that “a suicide bomber linked to the terrorist group (Islamic State) entered the Mar Elias (Saint Elijah) church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus, opened fire and blew himself up with an explosive belt.”
AFP correspondents saw rescuers evacuating people after the attack, which damaged the church, where remnants of the iconostasis and icons were scattered, and the floor was covered in puddles of blood.
Hours before the ISIS terrorist attack today.
— chunguskitten (@chunguskitten) June 23, 2025
This morning’s Divine Liturgy at Mar Elias Church, Duwayla, Damascus, Syria. pic.twitter.com/hWhGVM3uTt
According to the Ministry of Health, cited by the SANA news agency, 20 people were killed and 52 were wounded in the attack.
The explosion, according to eyewitnesses, caused panic in the church, which was full of worshippers, including children and the elderly.
One of them told AFP that “someone entered the church with a weapon” and started shooting, and then the worshippers “tried to stop him before he blew himself up.” ; For the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “this criminal act targeting Christian worshippers is a desperate attempt to undermine national coexistence and destabilize the country.”
UN Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen expressed “outrage” and called on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.
US Envoy for Syria Tom Barack condemned the “cowardly act” which has no place “in the new society of tolerance and inclusion that Syrians are building.”
Isis has now claimed responsibility for the su*cide bombing at Mar Elias Church in Demascus, Syria, that’s taken the lives of at least 20 and injured dozens.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 23, 2025
Christians are being persecuted globally.
The media: 😴 pic.twitter.com/QRE32s1uz8
France condemned the “abhorrent terrorist attack” and reiterated “its commitment to a transition in Syria that allows Syrians, regardless of their faith, to live in peace and security in a free, united, prosperous, stable and sovereign Syria.”
Interior Minister Anas Hatab said that “specialized teams” have started an investigation and that “terrorism will not stop the efforts of the Syrian state to achieve civil peace.”
He recently said that Islamic State is carrying out “precise attacks on strategic targets” ;of Christian and Shiite communities and that ;some have been thwarted.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for its first attack on new Syrian government forces in May.
At the beginning of the civil war, which broke out in 2011, it took control of large parts of the territory of Syria and Iraq and in 2014 declared the formation of its “caliphate”, but it was defeated in 2019, and many of its members are still there, especially in the vast Syrian desert.
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Source: Nova.rs; Photo: Printscreen X