At least 22 people have been killed after a suicide bombing at a church near Damascus, local media outlets have said, citing the Syrian health ministry.
At least 63 others were injured in the attack, the state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) reported.
The perpetrator entered Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood during a service and opened fire with a weapon before detonating an explosive vest, Syria’s interior ministry said in a statement.
The ministry claimed the suicide bomber was affiliated with the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
The group has not commented on the attack.
One eyewitness told the AFP news agency outside the Greek Orthodox church that “someone entered carrying a weapon” and began shooting.
“[People] tried to stop him before he blew himself up,” he added.
The incident marks the first suicide bombing in Damascus since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces in December.
Syria’s government, which is led by former leaders of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been carrying out anti-IS raids throughout the country.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba said: “The security of places of worship is a red line.”
He accused IS and remaining members of the ousted Assad government of trying to destabilize Syria.
Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack in a post on X, saying: “This cowardly act goes against the civic values that bring us together.”
He added: “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.”
This story is being updated.
