A suicide bomber killed 25 people and wounded 63 others during a Sunday evening service at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
The attacker opened fire on the congregation before detonating an explosive vest inside the Greek Orthodox church, Syrian authorities reported. The Interior Ministry attributed the attack to a suicide bomber affiliated with the Islamic State group, though no group immediately claimed responsibility.
Father Fadi Ghattas, who witnessed the attack, indicated that approximately 350 people were attending prayers when the bombing occurred. He reported seeing at least 20 people killed. Local media sources noted that children were among the casualties.
Witness accounts describe a gunman with a covered face entering the church and firing at worshippers. When congregants charged toward the attacker to remove him from the church, he detonated his explosives at the entrance. Church priest Meletius Shahati reported the presence of a second gunman who shot at the church door before the suicide bomber detonated himself.
Issam Nasr, who was among those praying at the church, described seeing people “blown to bits.” Another witness, identified as Rawad, told reporters he observed the attacker accompanied by two others who fled as he was driving near the church. The witness confirmed that the gunman was shooting at the church before entering and detonating himself.
Photos from inside the church showed a heavily damaged altar, pews covered in broken glass and debris, and blood spattered across walls and floors. The Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, deployed emergency teams to transfer bodies to hospitals and secure the area.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch described the incident in a statement, noting that the explosion occurred at the church entrance, resulting in the deaths of people both inside the building and in the immediate vicinity. The patriarchate called upon Syria’s interim authorities to assume full responsibility for violations against the sanctity of churches and ensure the protection of all citizens.
Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the blast as a terrorist attack, stating the cowardly act goes against civic values. He affirmed the state’s commitment to equal citizenship and pledged efforts to combat criminal organizations threatening society’s safety.
The attack represents the first such incident in Damascus since Islamist-led rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, ending 13 years of civil war. Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is a former al-Qaeda affiliate, has repeatedly promised to protect religious and ethnic minorities since seizing power.
The incident occurs as the interim government struggles to exert authority across Syria, with concerns about sleeper cells of extremist groups operating in the war-torn country. A February United Nations report estimated that the Islamic State maintains between 1,500 and 3,000 fighters in Syria and neighboring Iraq, with most key leaders based in Syrian territory.
More than 9,000 Islamic State fighters remain detained in prisons across northeastern Syria, while 40,000 others linked to the group, mostly women and children, are held in camps throughout the region. The UN has warned that the group might exploit Syria’s transition period to increase attacks and establish the country as a renewed hub for recruiting foreign fighters.
United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen expressed outrage at what he termed a heinous crime, calling on Syrians to unite in rejecting terrorism, extremism and the targeting of any community. The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land issued a statement describing the attack as an act of unspeakable evil and a crime against humanity.
The Catholic ordinaries referenced the Pope Francis-signed Document on Human Fraternity, emphasizing that the attack violated the right to worship in peace and safety. They noted that protection of places of worship is a duty guaranteed by religions, human values, laws and international agreements.
Multiple countries condemned the attack, including Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Syria’s interim government to take concrete measures to protect all ethnic and religious minorities.
US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack characterized the attack as an act of cowardice, stating such acts have no place in the new tapestry of integrated tolerance and inclusion that Syrians are creating. The Arab League also condemned the attack, with Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressing hope that the Syrian government would effectively address terrorist organizations.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab announced that specialized investigation teams had begun examining the circumstances of what he termed a reprehensible crime. Khattab stated, “These terrorist acts will not stop the efforts of the Syrian state in achieving civil peace.”
