Suicide bomber at Syrian church kills at the least 13

DWEIL’A, Syria — A suicide bomber in Syria on Sunday detonated himself inside a church full of folks, killing at the least 13, Syrian state media reported.

The explosion in Dweil’a within the outskirts of Damascus happened as folks have been praying contained in the Mar Elias Church. SANA, citing the Well being Ministry, mentioned that at the least 53 others have been wounded. Britain-based warfare monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights mentioned there have been at the least 19 folks killed and dozens of others wounded, however didn’t give precise numbers. Some native media reported that kids have been among the many casualties.

The assault was the primary of its form in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus, below its de facto Islamist rule, is attempting to win the help of minorities. As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority throughout the nation, there have been considerations concerning the presence of sleeper cells of extremist teams within the war-torn nation.

No group instantly claimed accountability Sunday, however the Syrian Inside Ministry mentioned an extremist from the Islamic State group entered the church, fired on the folks there earlier than detonating himself with an explosives vest, echoing some witness testimonies.

Syrian Data Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the assault, calling it a terrorist assault.

“This cowardly act goes towards the civic values that brings us collectively,” he mentioned in a submit on X, previously Twitter. “We’ll to again down from our dedication to equal citizenship … and we additionally affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to fight prison organizations and to guard society from all assaults threatening its security.”

Church Bishop Moussa Khoury mentioned the attacker additionally threw a grenade into the church in the course of the afternoon Mass.

“He began capturing, went after which he blew up the church,” he informed the AP.

A witness who recognized himself as Rawad informed The Related Press he noticed the attacker, who was accompanied by two others, who fled as he was driving close to the church.

“He was capturing on the church … he then went contained in the church and blew himself up,” he mentioned.

Nevertheless, Meletius Shahati, a church priest, mentioned there was a second gunman who shot on the church door earlier than the opposite particular person detonated himself.

Safety forces and first responders rushed to the church. Panicked survivors wailed, as one girl fell to her knees and burst into tears. A photograph circulated by Syrian state media SANA confirmed the church’s pews coated in particles and blood.