At least 20 people were killed Sunday in a suicide attack on a church in Damascus, authorities said, with Syriaβs interior ministry blaming a member of the Islamic State group.
The United Nations condemned the attack, the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, and the first on a church since the countryβs civil war erupted in 2011.
Security remains one of the greatest challenges for Syriaβs new authorities, whom the international community has repeatedly urged to protect minorities.
The interior ministry said in a statement that βa suicide attacker affiliated with the Daesh (IS) terrorist group entered the Saint Elias church in the Dwelaa area of the capital Damascus where he opened fire then blew himself up with an explosive beltβ.
AFP correspondents saw first responders transporting people from the site, which was strewn with shattered wood from fittings and pews, with fallen icons and pools of blood seen on the floor. Security forces cordoned off the area.
A health ministry statement carried by state news agency SANA said 20 people were killed and 52 wounded, raising an earlier civil defence toll.
Bystander Lawrence Maamari told AFP that βsomeone entered (the church) from outside carrying a weaponβ and began shooting, adding that people βtried to stop him before he blew himself upβ.
β βHeinous crimeβ β
United Nations special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen expressed βoutrage at this heinous crimeβ, calling in a statement for βa full investigation and action by the authoritiesβ.
Franceβs foreign ministry condemned an βabject, terroristβ attack, reiterating its commitment to βa transition in Syria that allows Syrians, whatever their religion, to live in peace and security in a free, united, pluralistic, prosperous, stable and sovereignβ country.
Syriaβs foreign ministry described the attack as βa desperate attempt to undermine national coexistence and to destabilise the countryβ.
Ziad, 40, said from a shop near the church that he heard gunfire then an explosion, and saw glass flying at him.
βWe saw fire in the church and the remains of wooden benches thrown all the way to the entrance,β he said.
The blast sparked panic and fear in the church, which had been full of worshippers including children and the elderly, an eyewitness told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Several people were reported missing, with families searching desperately for their loved ones.
Assad had painted himself as a protector of minorities, who during Syriaβs nearly 14-year civil war were targeted by numerous attacks, many claimed by jihadist groups including IS.
After the new authorities took power, the international community and visiting envoys repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syriaβs transitional process, particularly after sectarian violence erupted in several parts of the country.
β Investigation β
Interior Minister Anas Khattab offered condolences for the victims and said that βspecialised teams from the ministry have begun investigations into the circumstances of this reprehensible crimeβ.
βThese terrorist acts will not stop the efforts of the Syrian state in achieving civil peace,β Khattab said according to a statement.
In an interview earlier this month, Khattab noted the security challenges facing Syria and said that IS had shifted βto studied attacks on strategic targetsβ.
He said IS had attempted βto carry out attacks against the Christian and Shiite communityβ that the authorities had thwarted.
Last month, IS claimed its first attack on Syriaβs new government forces.
Also last month, Syrian authorities said they arrested members of an IS cell near Damascus, accusing them of preparing attacks, while another anti-IS operation in the northern city of Aleppo saw the death of one security officer and three IS members.
IS seized large swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in the early years of the civil war, declaring a cross-border βcaliphateβ in 2014.
US-backed Syria Kurdish forces defeated the proto-state in 2019, but the jihadists have maintained a presence, particularly in Syriaβs vast desert.
AFP
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