DWEIL’A, Syria (AP) — A suicide bomber in on Sunday detonated himself inside a Greek Orthodox church filled with people, killing at least 13, Syrian state media reported.
The explosion in Dweil’a in the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church. SANA, citing the Health Ministry, said that at least 53 others were wounded. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were at least 19 peopled killed and dozens of others wounded, but did not give exact numbers. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.
The attack on the church was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus under its de facto Islamist rule is trying to win the support of minorities. As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of extremist groups in the war-torn country.
No group immediately claimed responsibility Sunday, but the Syrian Interior Ministry said an extremist from the entered the church, fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosives vest, echoing some witness testimonies.
Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack.
“This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together,” he said on X. “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.”
Church Bishop Moussa Khoury said the attacker also threw a grenade into the church during the afternoon Mass.
“He started shooting, went and then he blew up the church,” he told The Associated Press.
A witness who identified himself as Rawad told AP he saw the attacker who was accompanied by two others who fled as he was driving near the church.
“He was shooting at the church … he then went inside the church and blew himself up,” he said.
However, Meletius Shahati, a church priest, said there was a second gunman who shot at the church door before the other person detonated himself.
Security forces and first-responders rushed to the church. Panicked survivors wailed, as one lady fell to her knees and burst into tears. A photo circulated by Syrian state media SANA showed the church’s pews covered in debris and blood.
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Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
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