SDF denies claims linking al-Hol camp to Damascus church attack
Shafaq News – Al-Hasakah / Qamishli
On Wednesday, the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) denied accusations by Damascus authorities that individuals who carried out a recent suicide bombing at Mar Elias Church in the al-Duwaila'a district of Damascus came from the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria.
In a statement, the SDF described the remarks by the Syrian Interior as 'unfounded and not based on factual evidence,' calling Syrian government to conduct 'transparent investigations and publicly share their findings to prevent further terrorist attacks.'
The attack caused civilian casualties and was followed by the reported foiling of another bombing attempt targeting the Sayyida Zainab shrine south of the capital.
The SDF stated that internal investigations showed no record of anyone leaving the al-Hol camp during the period in question, apart from Syrians transferred at the request of the Damascus government and Iraqi nationals repatriated through official arrangements with Baghdad.
The statement also emphasized that al-Hol primarily houses women and children from ISIS-affiliated families and does not contain foreign combatants, 'making it unlikely that non-Syrian suicide bombers could have emerged from the camp.'
Meanwhile, dozens of Christians and residents of Qamishli took to the streets to protest the deadly bombing that targeted Mar Elias Church, denouncing 'a terrorist attack on places of worship and the Christian community in Syria.'
Carrying photos of the victims, demonstrators chanted slogans celebrating the Christian faith and the cross, while condemning violence against religious minorities.
One of the protesters, George Younan, told Shafaq News that 'the continuing security lapses are allowing such crimes and violations against Christians and other minorities to occur repeatedly,' and called for an end to what he described as government negligence.
Another protester, Issa Issa, said the bombing was not an isolated incident, but a direct consequence of 'security chaos and the power vacuum, worsened by the government's policy of arming unlawful groups under various pretexts.' He pointed to similar attacks in the countryside of Latakia, Suwayda, and Jaramana in recent years.
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