Damascus, Syria – Fourteen people were killed and 28 others injured on Sunday in a deadly attack targeting a church in the Syrian capital, Damascus, according to a security source.
The source told +963 that a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt inside the Mar Elias Church in the Al-Duwaila neighborhood, causing significant casualties.
The attack was reportedly executed by two individuals: one who blew himself up and another who opened fire directly on people inside the church.
Syrian Interior Ministry security forces quickly cordoned off the area around the church, the source added.
Emergency and civil defense teams began evacuating the dead and wounded from the blast site.
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Visual footage circulated on social media showed extensive destruction and the remains of victims inside the church following the attack.
Earlier in April, unknown assailants set fire to and threw hand grenades inside a church in the Damascus countryside, according to the local news outlet “Voice of the Capital.”
The report stated that unidentified attackers targeted the Mar Girgis Church in the town of Bloudan by breaking a window, pouring gasoline inside, and setting the building on fire. Although they threw hand grenades, the safety pins were not removed, preventing detonation.
Security personnel from Syria’s Ministry of Interior later secured the area and safely removed the unexploded grenades.
