At least 22 people were killed and 62 others injured Sunday when a Daesh terrorist opened fire inside Mar Elias Church, east of Damascus, before blowing himself up, the Syrian Health Ministry said.
The Syrian Civil Defense said ambulances were transporting the injured from the scene and the Internal Security Forces have cordoned off the church area to ensure safety.
The Commander of Internal Security in Damascus Governorate, Brig. Gen. Osama Khayr Atikah, inspected the bombing site as investigators launched an initial probe into the terrorist attack, the official news agency SANA reported.
The attack on the church was the first of its kind in Syria in years and comes as Damascus' new leadership is trying to win the support of minorities.
As the government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, attempts to exert full authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of extremist groups in the war-torn country.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said in a news conference that their preliminary investigation points to the extremist Daesh group.
The ministry said one gunman entered the church, fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosive vest, echoing some witness testimonies.
"The security of places of worship is a red line," he said, adding that Daesh and the remaining members of the ousted Assad government are trying to destabilize Syria.
Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack.
"This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together," he said on X. "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 all attacks threatening its safety."
Witnesses said the gunman, with his face covered, entered and fired at the people. When a crowd charged at him to remove him from the church, he detonated his explosives at the entrance.
Syria's Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hind Kabawat, the country's Christian and female minister, met with the clergy at the church in the evening to express her condolences.
"People were praying safely under the eyes of God," said Father Fadi Ghattas, who said he saw at least 20 people killed with his own eyes. "There were 350 people praying at the church."
However, Meletius Shahati, a church priest, said there was a second gunman who shot at the church door before the other person detonated himself.
Issam Nasr, who was praying at the church, said he saw people "blown to bits."
"We have never held a knife in our lives. All we ever carried were our prayers," he said.
Security forces and first responders rushed to the church. Panicked survivors wailed, as one lady fell to her knees and burst into tears. A photo circulated by Syrian state media SANA showed the church's pews covered in debris and blood.
