A shooting and suicide bombing at a Damascus church during a packed service on Sunday, June 22nd, killed at least 22 people, authorities said, blaming a member of the Islamic State group for the unprecedented attack.
“A suicide attacker affiliated with the Daesh (IS) terrorist group entered the Saint Elias church in the Dwelaa area… opened fire then blew himself up with an explosive belt,” an interior ministry statement said.
State news agency SANA, citing the ministry of health, reported a death toll of 22, with 63 injured.
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011.
Syria’s Christian community has shrunk from around one million before the war to under 300,000 due to waves of displacement and emigration.
Syria’s new president is a former terrorist, and Islamist fighters have been involved in the massacre of thousands of Christians and Alawites in recent months.
Hungary is sending €25,000 worth of medical aid via the Hungary Helps programme to support the Christian families and the local community affected by the attack, Balázs Orbán, the Hungarian PM’s political director announced on X.
