DAMASCUS, SYRIA — At least 20 people were killed and 52 others injured in a devastating suicide bombing at a Christian church on the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday, Syria’s interior ministry has confirmed.
The attack took place at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila district during a worship service. According to an official statement, the assailant entered the church armed with a firearm, opened fire on congregants, and then detonated an explosive vest. Authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the jihadist militant group Islamic State (IS), although the group has yet to issue an official claim of responsibility.
Graphic images shared by the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, revealed the extent of the devastation. Photographs and video footage from inside the church showed a shattered altar, blood-stained floors, and pews reduced to splinters.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos and horror. One survivor, speaking outside the church, said: “Someone entered carrying a weapon and started shooting. People tried to stop him before he blew himself up.” A shop worker nearby added, “We saw fire inside the church and broken wooden benches thrown as far as the entrance.”
Emergency services responded swiftly, and security forces have since cordoned off the area. A full-scale investigation is underway.
This marks the first major terrorist attack in Damascus since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December, an event that shifted the power dynamics of the long-standing Syrian conflict.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — a former al-Qaeda affiliate — had previously pledged to protect religious and ethnic minorities. But Sunday’s bombing underscores the volatility of the post-Assad period, as sectarian violence continues to rise across the war-torn nation.
No group has officially claimed responsibility as of press time, but the attack has raised fresh concerns over the resurgence of extremist networks in the capital and their potential to destabilize the fragile interim government.