a day ago
Suicide bombing in Damascus church kills at least 20
Protesters hold crosses and shout slogans during a demonstration in the Bab Touma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, in 2024. File photo by Hasan Belal/EPA-EFE
June 22 (UPI) -- At least 20 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide bombing inside a church in Syria, according to the country's Ministry of Health and security officials.
People were praying during mass inside the Mar Elias Church in Dweil'a on the outskirts of Damascus when the attack occurred.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior offered condolences and said an investigation is underway surrounding the circumstances of the attack.
"These terrorist acts will not halt the Syrian state's efforts to achieve civil peace, not will they deter Syrians from their choice to unite in the face of all those who work to tamper with their stability and security," a statement on social media from the ministry said.
The death toll was likely not a final count, the ministry said.
"The death toll reported was a preliminary one," a ministry statement said. "Rescue teams from the Syria Civil Defense continue to recover bodies from the scene," a statement on Telegram Sunday said.
The Syrian Health Ministry said at least 50 other people were injured in the attack, some of whom were children, according to witnesses.
"This cowardly attack goes against the civic values that brings us together," Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mostafa said in a social media post.
"We will not 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 al attacks threatening its safety," he continued, and called the suicide bombing a "terrorist attack."
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pederson, also denounced the attack.
"He expresses his outrage at this heinous crime," a statement attributed to Pederson said. "He takes note that the Syrian interim authorities have attributed this attack to ISIL and calls for a full investigation and action by the authorities."
