Christians in Syria are reeling after a suicide bombing struck a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus during a Divine Liturgy on Sunday. Source: OSV News.
At least 20 people were killed and more than 60 injured after an attacker, reported to be armed and wearing an explosive vest, entered Mar Elias, a Greek Orthodox church in the city’s Dweila neighbourhood.
Posting to its official Telegram channel, Syria’s Interior Ministry said the bomber was “affiliated with the terrorist organisation ISIS,” and that he had opened fire prior to detonating his vest.
Witnesses quoted by The Washington Post said the attacker, whose face was covered, had been charged by a crowd seeking to eject him from the church.
The outlet quoted Fr Fadi Ghattas as saying there were “350 people praying at the church” when the attacker struck.
Another priest, Fr Meletius Shahati, reported a second gunman shooting at the church door prior to the explosion.
Churchgoer Issam Nasr said he had seen people “blown to bits”, adding, “We have never held a knife in our lives. All we ever carried were our prayers.”
Photos of the church showed blood-spattered walls and mangled pews, with the altar heavily damaged.
The Interior Ministry said that “security units rushed to the scene, cordoned off the entire area, while teams began collecting evidence and investigating the circumstances of the attack.”
The deadly aggression has drawn widespread domestic and international condemnation.
Syria’s information minister Hamza al-Mustafa posted on X: “This cowardly act contradicts the values of citizenship that unite us all. We, as Syrians, affirm the importance of national unity and civil peace, and call for boosting the bonds of brotherhood among all components of society.”
Previously, Syrian Maronite Archbishop Antoine Chbair told the Catholic Near East Welfare Association — an initiative of the Holy See — that “no one knows the end” of recent deadly violence and “sectarian strife” in Syria.
The archbishop’s remarks followed the killing of at least 800 people in March, as Syria’s security forces battled armed supporters of Syria’s ousted former president Bashar Assad.
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Suicide bomber strikes Syria church, killing at least 20 Christians (By GIna Christian, OSV News)
