At least 22 Christians have died and 63 more have been injured in an attack with a bomb perpetrated this Sunday, Christian Holy Day, against the Church of San Elías, in the Duweila neighborhood, in the center of Damascus, according to Syrian authorities.
The Ministry of Health has confirmed this balance to the Sana state news agency on an attack that has been perpetrated at the time the Mass was celebrated, when the temple was full of faithful of the Greek Orthodox branch of Christianity. It is the first attack of this type against a church in Damascus in years.
The ministerial portfolio has also announced that it is a “suicidal attack”, which attributes to the Islamic State. The attacker “entered the church of San Elías, opened fire and then detonated with an explosive vest.”
“The security forces have quickly moved to the place, have cordoned off the area and the specialized teams have begun to collect evidence and to investigate the circumstances of the attack,” he added.
The Damascus Government has expressed its “concern” for the “cowardly” attack against the Church of San Elías, which has “vigorously condemned.”
The United States ambassador for Syria, Tom Barrack, has expressed his condolences to the victims, family and affected in the attack. “These terrible acts of cowardice have no place in the new integrated tolerance fabric and inclusion that the Syrians are weaving. We continue to support the Syrian government in their fight against those who want to create instability and fear in their country and throughout the region,” he said in X.
For its part, the special envoy of the United Nations for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has requested a “complete investigation and the performance of the authorities” on an event that has described as “atrocious crime.” In a brief statement, he has condemned the attack and has called for the Syrian population to “unite in rejection of terrorism, extremism, incitement and attacks against any community in” the country.
The director of the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, Rami Abdelrahman, has denounced the presence of jihadists in southern Damascus before the passivity of the authorities.
“I have spoken a lot about the presence of extremist terrorist groups in the south of the capital of Damascus. They denied their existence and now the suicidal attacks have begun,” the France 24 chain has denounced in statements. “An intensive safety operation is necessary because there are dozens of Islamic State suicides in southern Damascus,” he said.
