Latest news with #SaintEliasChurch
LBCI
6 hours ago
- LBCI
Syria says Islamic State group behind church attack, at least 15 dead
Syria's interior ministry said a member of the Islamic State group was behind Sunday's attack on a church in Damascus, which civil defense reported had killed at least 15 people. "A suicide attacker affiliated with IS terrorist group entered the Saint Elias church... opened fire then blew himself up with an explosive belt," the ministry said in a statement. The Syrian civil defense said in a statement that the attack killed "more than 15 people and a number of wounded, according to a preliminary toll." AFP
LBCI
6 hours ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Syria state media reports casualties in suicide attack on Damascus church
Syrian state media reported a suicide attack on a Damascus church on Sunday that caused casualties, as AFP correspondents at the scene saw first responders transporting people from the site. "A suicide attacker detonates an explosive belt inside the Saint Elias church in the Dweila area of Damascus," state TV reported, adding that security forces cordoned off the area. State news agency SANA reported unspecified casualties. AFP correspondents at the scene saw destruction at the church, with shattered wood from fittings and pews, icons on the ground and pools of blood. AFP
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Blood, destruction at Damascus church after suicide attack
At the blood-stained Saint Elias church in Damascus, Umm George wept as she desperately searched for her son, who was among the worshippers when a suicide bomber struck on Sunday. In vain, she tried to convince Syrian security forces, who had cordoned off the area, to let her into the church, whose windows had been blown out and whose interior was covered with debris and damaged pews. "My son was praying in the church," she told AFP. "I tried to contact him but his mobile phone is off the air and I haven't been able to find him." "I'm afraid I won't hear his voice again," she said, breaking down. Panicked family members rushed to the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital searching for loved ones after news of the blast spread. The interior ministry said "a suicide attacker affiliated with the Daesh (IS) terrorist group" entered the church, "opened fire then blew himself up with an explosive belt" in an unprecedented attack inside a Syrian church since war erupted more than 14 years ago. Authorities said more than 20 people were killed and dozens wounded. AFP correspondents saw blood and human remains inside the devastated church, whose panels holding religious icons were scattered on the ground and its central chandelier shattered. The blast sparked panic in the church, which had been full of worshippers including children and the elderly, an eyewitness said. - 'Extremely afraid' - Lawrence Maamari, who was among those inside, said that "someone entered from outside carrying a weapon" and began shooting, adding that people "tried to stop him before he blew himself up". Maamari said he helped move around 10 casualties from the scene, as local residents tried to help the wounded before ambulances and other emergency vehicles arrived. Other worshippers were shocked, unable to comprehend what had happened, their faces filled with grief. The force of the blast sent glass flying towards a shop opposite, where Ziad Helou, 40, said he heard gunfire then an explosion, and threw himself to the ground in fear. "We saw fire in the church and the remains of wooden benches thrown all the way to the entrance," he said. Several churches were damaged during Syria's war, which erupted in 2011, or attacks were carried out in their vicinity, but none were directly hit by such an attack. The government of now-ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad long portrayed itself as a protector of minorities, who were targeted by numerous attacks during the conflict, many claimed by jihadist groups including IS. The attack is also the first of its kind since the new authorities took over after Assad's December ouster, while the international community has repeatedly called for minorities to be protected. "We were extremely afraid," said Helou. "I remember the explosions during the war," he added. bur-mam/lg/sbk
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia condemns suicide attack on Syrian church
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned a suicide attack on a church in Damascus that killed at least 20 people. Syria's interior ministry said in a statement that 'a suicide attacker affiliated with the Daesh 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.' The Foreign Ministry emphasized the Kingdom's position rejecting the targeting of places of worship, the terrorizing of civilians, and the shedding of innocent blood. It affirmed the Kingdom's support for the Syrian Arab Republic against all forms of violence, extremism, and terrorism.
