At least 20 killed in suicide bomb attack on Damascus church, Syrian officials say
Suicide bombing at Damascus church kills 20 in first major attack since the Assad regime was toppled.
Syria's interior ministry blamed a member of the Islamic State group for the attack.
Attack shows ISIS remains a threat despite years of counterterrorism and territorial losses. At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood of Syria's capital Damascus, health authorities and security sources said. It was the first suicide bombing in Damascus since Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel insurgency in December. Syria's interior ministry said the suicide bomber was a member of Islamic State. He entered the church on Sunday, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest, a ministry statement added. A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up.
Islamic State has been behind several attempted attacks on churches in Syria since Assad's fall, but this was the first to succeed, another security source told Reuters news agency. Syria's state news agency cited the health ministry as saying that 52 people were also injured in the blast. A livestream from the site by Syria's civil defence, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction from inside the church, including a bloodied floor and shattered pews and masonry. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the offensive against Assad before taking over in January for a transitional phase, has repeatedly said he will protect minorities.
"We unequivocally condemn the abhorrent terrorist suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, Syria," the Greek foreign ministry said in a statement. "We demand that the Syrian transitional authorities take immediate action to hold those involved accountable and implement measures to guarantee the safety of Christian communities and all religious groups, allowing them to live without fear." Islamic State had previously targeted religious minorities, including a major attack on Shiite pilgrims in Sayeda Zainab in 2016 — one of the most notorious bombings during Assad's rule. The latest assault underscores the group's continued ability to exploit security gaps despite the collapse of its territorial control and years of counterterrorism efforts.
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SBS Australia
35 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Suicide bomb attack devastates Damascus church
Warning: Some listeners may find this content distressing. A suicide bomber has struck a packed Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 50 during Sunday Mass at Mar Elias Church in Dweila, a residential district on the city's outskirts. Syria's Interior Ministry says the attacker opened fire before detonating his explosive vest at the entrance. A second assailant may have been involved. Local reports suggest children were among the victims in one of the deadliest attacks on civilians since former President Bashar al-Assad's fall. The Syrian Information Minister, Hamza Mostafa, condemned the attack as an act of terrorism. Father Fadi Ghattas, was leading the Mass, when the attack took place. 'We were having Mass, and people were praying peacefully, under the eyes of God. Suddenly, someone came in wearing a vest and aiming a weapon. The young men rushed at him to get him out of the church, and at the door he blew himself up.' He says hundreds of people were at the church. 'There were about 350 people inside the church praying. So many people, I don't even know. I personally carried over twenty bodies with my own hands. May God have mercy on us and on them.' Survivors described a scene of utter devastation, with blood, shattered pews, and torn limbs scattered across the floor. Issam Nasr was at the church when the tragedy unfolded. 'We had just finished the prayer and were on our way out, while people were still inside. Then someone masked and armed came in carrying his weapon. He opened fire on the people and killed many, the church was full. People rushed at him and surrounded him, then he blew himself up at the church door. Bodies were torn apart and scattered and the church collapsed.' No group immediately claimed responsibility, but authorities say the attacker was a member of the Islamic State group. If confirmed, it would mark the group's first successful bombing in Damascus since al-Assad was overthrown in December by an Islamist-led rebel coalition. While IS lost its territorial strongholds years ago, sleeper cells continue to operate in parts of Syria, particularly in areas with strained or fractured governance. Mar Elias was not chosen at random. The church is a symbol for Syria's dwindling Christian minority. The latest assault underscores the group's continued ability to exploit security gaps despite the collapse of its territorial control and years of counter-terrorism efforts. Father Meletius Shattah was also at the church when the gunman burst in on Sunday. "We started to hear gunfire outside the church for almost two minutes. It was intermittent at first, then the shooting moved to the church yard and eventually inside the church. Suddenly, two people entered with explosive belts and detonated them inside the church during the Mass we hold every Sunday.' He accuses the new Syrian government of failing to protect its citizens. 'The government always say these are individual acts that the government is not responsible for. But unfortunately our state was not protecting us from these individual acts, it was not protecting us at all. This gave us the impression that the individual acts became institutional acts and not only individual acts and we are not used to asking for protection from anyone. We always lived under the protection of our God. However, we are citizens in this country and it is the responsibility of the state to protect us, this is not a privilege that our state gives to us but it is its responsibility. The attack has reignited fears about security in the capital, now under transitional rule, and the lingering threat posed by extremist groups like I-S. President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led the offensive to oust al-Assad and assumed leadership in January, has repeatedly pledged to safeguard Syria's minorities. But Sunday's events cast doubt on whether his administration can deliver that promise in practice, especially amid ongoing instability. Meanwhile, security forces have increased patrols near places of worship, and emergency services have begun clearing debris from the scene.
SBS Australia
36 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Iran warns of 'irreparable consequences' following US strikes
After the United States joined Israel's assault on Iran over the weekend, Israel says Iran has now launched a barrage of strikes towards it. The latest Israeli strikes on Iran killed at least three people after an ambulance was hit in Isfahan. With the US strikes prompting yet another emergency UN Security Council meeting, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has issued another warning against escalation. 'We must act immediately and decisively to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear program. We need a credible, comprehensive and verifiable solution, one that restores trust, including with full access to inspectors of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) as the United Nations technical authority in these fields.' Over the weekend, the United States joined Israel in the largest Western military action in Iran since its 1979 revolution. Iran has vowed to retaliate, warning that US bases in the Middle East could be hit in the response. Iran's Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, says the US and Israel have crossed a red line. " Throughout history, the resilient and united Iranian nation has withstood deeper wounded (sic) and faced more vicious enemies. And this time It will show its dignity, strength, and greatness to the world. Over the past 10 days, the Israeli barbaric assault, the international bodies, including the UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency, have been provided with all the necessary information and warning. Yet, they have proven once again that the so-called eight decades' long quest to prevent war and aggression is hollow and powerless in practice." Since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, Iran says Israel has killed more than 400 people. Israel says Iranian strikes have killed 24 in Israel. Despite U-S officials reiterating that regime change is not the objective of US involvement, President Donald Trump has hinted otherwise. In a post on social media, Mr Trump writes that there's no reason why there should not be regime change if the current government in Iran can't, in his words, 'make Iran great again'. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth says the attacks are aimed at removing Iran's nuclear capabilities, not at forcing a regime change. "This mission was not and has not been about regime change. The president authorised a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defence of our troops and our ally Israel.' According to the US, strikes were carried out on three of Iran's nuclear facilities - Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Buried within a mountainside, the Fordo nuclear site holds a uranium enrichment plant that's believed critical to Iran's nuclear program. The US sent a 13 tonne bomb to the Fordo site, despite calls from the International Atomic Energy Agency not to attack nuclear facilities. The Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, now in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin, says the strikes cast doubt over the future of the non-proliferation treaty. 'Well, I think, I'm not in a position to reveal what we are going to do in response to what Americans did last night. I just talked about the fact that the NPT (non-proliferation treaty) failed to protect Iran and its peaceful nuclear programme and this is a serious challenge.' Since 1992, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been issuing warnings claiming that Iran is dangerously close to acquiring nuclear weapons. There is currently no available evidence showing that Iran possesses or is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. While arms analysts estimate Israel possesses around 90 nuclear warheads, it remains one of only five nations that are not signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi says the US-Israeli assault risks pushing Iran to leave the treaty. "The nuclear non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security for more than half a century is on the line. The dramatic events in Iran have become even more serious with last night's bombardments and the potential widening of the conflict. We have a window of opportunity to return to dialog and diplomacy. If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels, and the global non-proliferation regime, as we know it, could crumble and fall." While Israel and the US say they obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities, proper analysis of the damage has not yet been conducted. Days before the attacks, cargo trucks were seen travelling to and from the Fordo facility, with both Iranian and Israeli officials saying Iran evacuated the sites ahead of the US attack. Analysts say that while it is possible to disrupt the physical function of a nuclear facility, the breadth of technical knowledge acquired during the decades-long programme is impossible to destroy. Darya Dolzikova is a Senior Research Fellow in Proliferation and Nuclear Policy at the Royal United Services Institute London. She says you cannot destroy knowledge through military means. 'It's possible to degrade the program to varying degrees, depending on how many strikes the Americans are willing to carry out and against which facilities or the Israelis, however, we're not talking about the full elimination of the program. I don't see that being feasible using just military means. The program is not only dispersed physically and there might yet be facilities that at least publicly we're not aware of but also just on a more basic level there is a lot of latent expertise in the country. This is a program that's been operating for decades. So, there's a lot of Indigenous expertise, so if the Iranians chose to rebuild whatever capacity has been damaged, the expertise is most likely still there to be able to do that.' Both Russia and China have condemned the strikes, with Russian officials recalling the claims of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq that were used to justify the U-S invasion in 2003. In the end, no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq and it is estimated that over 100,000 civilians were killed in the ensuing war. Russian ambassador the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, says the US is once again harming the international community for its own gains. 'Washington yet again demonstrated its complete contempt for the position of the international community. Washington reasserted that to further the interests of its Israeli ally, it's prepared not only to turn a blind eye to the killings of tens of thousands of Palestinian women, children and older persons. But also to gamble with the safety and well-being of humanity as a whole. Through the actions, the US has opened a Pandora's box. No one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring.' Prior to the Israeli strikes, Iran was engaged in talks with the US on its nuclear program, which Mr Trump described as 'constructive'. On June 9th, just four days before Israel attacked Iran, the US President announced that Iran had rejected a key element of a US proposal that would require it to relinquish control over its nuclear enrichment capabilities. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, says Israel and the US tried and failed to engage diplomatically. 'You cannot ignore that diplomacy was tried over and over. The United States led that effort. Many nations here in this room engaged in diplomacy with determination and good faith. But the regime in Tehran had other plans. It used the negotiating table as camouflage, a delay tactic, a way to buy time while building missiles and enriching uranium.' Abbas Araghchi says calls for Iran to engage diplomatically are futile as that is exactly was Iran was trying to do. 'Well, I think it is irrelevant to ask Iran to return to diplomacy because we were in the middle of diplomacy. We were in the middle of talks with the United States when Israelis blew it up. And again, we were in the middle of talks and negotiation with Europeans, happened only two days ago in Geneva, when this time Americans decided to blow it up. So we were in diplomacy. But we were attacked.' In Australia, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has emphasised Australia's support for the U-S strikes. While Ms Wong says that Washington has not made any requests of Australia, she did not disclose whether the joint U-S intelligence surveillance base, Pine Gap, played a role in the operation. Ms Wong says Department of Foreign Affairs staff were evacuated from Iran and are helping Australians who make it through Iran's border with Azerbaijan. "We currently have 2,900 Australians and their families in Iran who have registered with us and seeking to leave. We have around 1,300 Australians and their families who have still registered with us in Israel and seeking to leave. The situation is very difficult, airspace remains closed, certainly in Iran, it is a very difficult situation. You have heard me previously urging Australians and their families to leave if they believe they can do so safely." Opposition Home Affairs spokesperson Andrew Hastie says the government response has not gone far enough. "Look, I think they've been far too ambiguous. United States is a close ally. United States has a key role in re-establishing order and peace in the Middle East. And Iran, by contrast, is a regime that sponsors terrorism. It sponsored Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. It has taken actions against Israel. "
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Coalition and Jewish leaders welcome ‘courageous' move Tony Abbott Scott Morrison
Two former Liberal prime ministers, the Coalition and Australian Jewish leaders have backed US President Donald Trump after he authorised strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites, while the Greens condemned the attacks for causing an 'escalation in violence'. Both Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott issued statements of support for the 'necessary' attacks on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan facilities, with Mr Morrison arguing there was 'no other option' to prevent Iran from mobilising a nuclear weapon. 'Does anyone welcome events like this? Of course they don't,' Mr Morrison told Sky News on Sunday. 'But this was a necessary event. There were no other options available to the President.' Mr Morrison said the US military was 'the only military in the world' capable of striking Iran in the way it has, and added Mr Trump had shown he was a president who advocates for 'peace through strength'. Mr Morrison said the strikes came only 'after the failure of so many interventions in the past'. 'When all other avenues fail, this is not a President that wishes to rush to these outcomes … but if necessary will,' he said. In a post on X, Mr Abbott said Israel's actions were welcome. 'Israel is doing the world's work in trying to destroy forever the Iranian nuclear weapons program and it's good that America has supported its ally,' he said. Sussan Ley on Sunday issued a similar statement of support for the attacks, saying the world can 'never accept a nuclear-armed Iranian regime'. The Opposition Leader said Iran sought to destroy Australia's allies, and the government should not allow 'the Iranian regime the capacity to enact its objectives of the destruction of the United States and Israel'. 'It was made clear by the International Atomic and Energy Agency on 12 June that Iran was in breach of its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations after stockpiling more than 400kg of 60 per cent enriched uranium at Fordow, the last step in enrichment towards a nuclear weapon,' she said. 'The world can never accept a nuclear-armed Iranian regime and today the United States military has taken proactive action to ensure that we never need to. A nuclear-armed Iranian regime would be a serious and direct threat to world peace and stability, especially as it continues to engage in terrorism including by supporting its proxies: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.' She said the Coalition 'stands with the United States'. Acting opposition foreign affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie said the Albanese government's response to the strikes was 'far too ambiguous', after an unnamed government spokesperson called for 'de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy'. 'The United States is a close ally. The United States has a key role in re-establishing order and peace in the Middle East,' he said. 'And Iran, by contrast, is a regime that sponsors terrorism. It sponsored Hamas, Hezbollah.' Liberal senator David Sharma said the Albanese government's attitude towards growing tensions between Israel and Iran was 'unanchored from reality'. He told Sky News Labor had been 'calling for dialogue between Israel and Iran'. 'These countries have not had diplomatic relations for 46 years,' he said. Senator Sharma said Australia should focus on the 'outcome we want' not the 'process that needs to be gone through'. 'The outcome that is clearly in Australia's national interest is an Iran that is no longer able to pursue nuclear weapons, does not support armed terrorist groups in the region, and does not harbour imperialistic designs to its neighbours and does not amass thousands of ballistic missiles,' he said. Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge slammed Labor for being complicit in the 'escalation in violence' in the Middle East, calling for Australia to distance itself from the US. Mr Shoebridge told the ABC the Albanese government should back out of the AUKUS agreement to ensure Australia is a 'force for peace'. 'At this moment, being silent when a bully like Donald Trump breaks international law and starts the United States' third war in the region just this century, being silent is complicit in that escalation and violence,' he said. 'Where is the red line the Albanese government has for the escalation and violence?' He called on Labor to 'make a clear statement' that 'no military base in Australia, whether a joint military base with the United States or otherwise, will be used for this unfolding US war'. The Palestine Action Group organised an anti-Israel protest in Sydney on Sunday, calling for the Albanese government to 'stop supporting (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and Trump's war'. In Melbourne, protesters marched from the State Library to the US Consulate waving Iranian and Palestinian flags, calling on America to 'stop attacking Iran'. The Australian/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council praised the 'welcome' assaults on the Iranian sites, saying the US attacks would support Australia's national security interests. Executive director Colin Rubenstein described the Fordow underground nuclear site as 'the linchpin of the Iranian nuclear program' and said the US strike on the facility 'provides much greater confidence that Iran's illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons capabilities will not be reconstituted any time soon'. 'US President Trump deserves congratulations for making a difficult but essential and courageous decision to intervene in the interests of not only the US, but of global security and stability – including Australia's national security interests,' Mr Rubenstein said. 'We now hope and pray the war between Iran and Israel can be brought to a rapid close and measures put in place that guarantee the rogue regime in Iran is never again able to present a similar menace to its neighbours, to international stability, or to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement.' Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler says the US attacks were a 'necessary and courageous response to an urgent threat'. 'The Iranian regime has for years pursued nuclear weapons while sponsoring terrorism that has killed thousands of Israelis, Americans, and others,' he said. 'Iran's actions are not just a danger to Israel, they are a clear and present threat to the West and the international rules-based order. 'We commend President Trump and the United States for their moral clarity and leadership in taking decisive action.' 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