On Sunday evening at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Prophet Elias in Damascus, Syria’s health ministry confirmed, at least 22 people were killed and 63 injured in a suicide bomb and shooting.
According to allegations connecting him to Islamic State (IS), the attacker began firing before detonating an explosive vest during a church service.
Witnesses related bloodstained altar, shattered glass, and scenes of pandemonium.
Since Islamist-led rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad last December, this is the first significant attack in Damascus.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate condemned the assault and called on provisional governments to safeguard people and churches.
UN and US leaders too decried the assault and urged national unity against extremism.
Target Christian minorities in Syria, and even though militarily vanquished in 2019, ISIS’s leftovers still provide a major danger.
With cells in the central Badia desert arranging future activities, a recent UN report estimates that 1,500–3,000 IS fighters remain active in Syria and Iraq.
