Suicide bomber kills no less than 13 in packed Syrian church close to Damascus | EUROtoday

A suicide bomber in Syria on Sunday detonated himself inside a church crammed with folks, killing no less than 13, Syrian state media reported.

The explosion in Dweil’a within the outskirts of Damascus passed off as folks had been praying contained in the Mar Elias Church. SANA, citing the Health Ministry mentioned that no less than 53 others had been wounded. Britain-based warfare monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights mentioned there have been no less than 19 peopled killed and dozens of others wounded, however didn’t give actual numbers. Some native media reported that youngsters had 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 making an attempt to win the help of minorities. As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority throughout the nation, there have been issues concerning the presence of sleeper cells of extremist teams within the war-torn nation.

No group instantly claimed accountability Sunday, however the Syrian Interior 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 Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the assault, calling it a terrorist assault.

“This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together,” he mentioned in a submit on X, previously Twitter. “We will to 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.”

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

“He started shooting, went and then he blew up the church,” he instructed the AP.

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

“He was shooting at the church … he then went inside the church and blew himself up,” he mentioned.

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

Security forces and first-responders rushed to the church. Panicked survivors wailed, as one woman 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.