At least 15 dead in suicide attack on Damascus church; Syrian officials say Islamic State group is behind attack
DAMASCUS: Syria's interior ministry said a member of the Islamic State group was behind Sunday's attack on a church in Damascus, which civil defence reported had killed at least 15 people.
It is the first attack of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, as security remains one of the greatest challenges for the country's new authorities.
AFP correspondents at the scene saw first responders transporting people from the site, with destruction at the church including shattered wood from fittings and pews, icons strewn on the ground and pools of blood.
The interior ministry said in a statement that "a 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 belt."
Syrian civil defence said in a statement that the attack killed "more than 15 people and a number of wounded, according to a preliminary toll."
One man told AFP outside the church that "someone entered from outside carrying a weapon" and began shooting, adding that people "tried to stop him before he blew himself up".
Ziad, 40, said from a shop across from the church that he heard gunfire then an explosion, adding that "we saw fire in the church and the remains of wooden benches thrown all the way to the entrance".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
38 minutes ago
- The Hindu
CM: businesses will no longer need police licence to run operations
Hotels, swimming pools, guest houses, video game parlours, auditoriums, and amusement parks in Delhi will no longer require licences from the police to be operational, said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday. However, municipal corporations and the departments concerned should now grant permission for their functioning. On June 19, Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena had approved an order withdrawing the requirement of the Delhi police to issue licences for seven business sectors under the Delhi Police Act, 1978. Businesses will now be exempted from having to obtain a no-objection certificate from the police. The exemption encompasses entities such as hotels, motels, guest houses, restaurants (eating houses), swimming pools, auditoriums, video game parlours, discotheques, and amusement parks. The licensing power will now be transferred to local bodies such as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, or Delhi Cantonment Board. The move comes after hotel and guest house operators sought the repealing of licences during a meeting with Chairman of the Chamber of Trade and Industry Brijesh Goyal and Industries Minister Manjinder Sirsa. Ms. Gupta said the reform is a direct reflection of the government's 'visionary approach' and in line with the BJP-led Centre's 'minimum government, maximum governance' and Ease of Doing Business policies. 'This decision is not only a big step towards administrative reform but also the result of the policy and thinking of the Central government,' said the CM. 'The Centre is adopting ease of doing business for the benefit of the country, which is being implemented in Delhi,' she added. Ms. Gupta said Union Home Minister Amit Shah has categorically said the police force should be relieved from non-core duties so that their energy and resources can be focused on law and order, security, and crime control. The subject of policing in the national capital lies under the Home Ministry. 'We want to make Delhi not only the political capital of India but also a model of good governance. That is the mission of our double-engine government,' the CM said.
Mint
42 minutes ago
- Mint
US-Israel strikes on Iran: Netanyahu says ‘we are very, very close to completing the objectives'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday (June 22) said Israel was nearing its strategic goals in Iran following a series of high-profile US-led airstrikes on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure. 'I have no doubt that this is a regime that wants to wipe us out, and that's why we embarked on this operation to eliminate the two concrete threats to our existence: the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat,' Netanyahu said, addressing reporters. 'We are moving step by step towards achieving these goals. We are very, very close to completing them.' He stressed that the campaign would end only when those objectives were met. 'We won't pursue our actions beyond what is needed to achieve them, but we also won't finish too soon,' he added. Netanyahu made it clear that Israel would avoid getting bogged down in prolonged conflict. 'We won't be dragged into a war of attrition but also won't end the campaign prematurely,' he said. He also revealed that Israeli intelligence had new insights: 'We have interesting intel on the location of Iran's 60% enriched uranium,' he said, suggesting further strikes could be imminent. Hours after the strikes, Netanyahu visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem to pray for US President Donald Trump, whose administration authorized the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites. In a video released by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Netanyahu is seen praying with his wife Sara and placing a handwritten note into the wall. 'Bless, protect and help the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who has taken it upon himself to drive out evil and darkness in the world,' he prayed. President Donald Trump, who authorised the strikes as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, defended the decision and warned Iran against retaliation. 'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' Trump declared. He added a stark warning: 'There will either be peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran.' The Pentagon confirmed that B-2 bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iran's key nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. While Iran and the IAEA said there was no radiation leak, the Pentagon said the facilities had suffered 'sustained, extremely severe damage and destruction.' Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned, 'The Americans must receive a response to their aggression,' in remarks made to French President Emmanuel Macron. 'The warmongering and lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression,' Araghchi said, adding that he would fly to Moscow to coordinate with Russia. Despite the aggressive strike, the Trump administration signaled openness to diplomacy. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refrained from specifying whether the US would respond with military force if Iran attempted to close the Strait of Hormuz or if Iranian proxy groups targeted oil infrastructure. "I'm not going to take options away from the president, that's not something we're talking about right now in terms of being immediate." Rubio acknowledged that while such a move would impact the U.S., it would have far greater consequences globally—particularly for China. "That would be a suicidal move on [Iran's] part, because I think the whole world would come against them if they did that," Rubio said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
The Keeladi question: Tamil pride, archaeology and political rivalry
The village becomes a flashpoint as Tamil parties champion ancient roots and the BJP-led Centre calls for further archaeological verification Shine Jacob New Delhi Listen to This Article In southern Tamil Nadu, along the quiet curve of the Vaigai river, lies Keeladi, which until 2013, rarely featured in conversation beyond its proximity to the temple city of Madurai. But over the past decade, this unassuming patch of earth has become the unlikely site of one of India's most charged archaeological and political debates. What began as a scientific excavation into ancient settlement patterns has turned into a flashpoint in a larger struggle over how Indian civilisation is remembered, narrated, and contested.
