At least 20 people were killed at a Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus during Sunday Mass after an Isamic suicide bomber detonated himself.
It is understood that the attacker entered St. Elias Church before opening fire and detonating the explosive device.
Eyewitnesses have reported that a second terrorist also shot at the approximately 150 people gathered in the church in the old
80 people are reported to have been injured, with 30 in what was described as “critical condition”.
The Syriac Express reported, the intervention of the civil defence teams and medical personnel in the aftermath of the attack with victims being evacuated to hospitals in Daramsuq, where an alert was issued to handle the influx of injured.
“Ambulance teams worked to secure the area while local security forces cordoned off the site, blocking neighborhood entrances as a precaution against potential further attacks.” it reported.
Syrian Minister for the Interior Noureddine Al-Baba condemned the “suicide attack” which he attributed to Islamic terror group, Isis saying “this is not the first time Isis has attempted to target civilians with criminal acts,”.
He said the Ministry for the Interior had previously “thwarted two attempted bombings, one at the Sayyida Zainab shrine and another at the Maaloula Church,”.
Al-Baba said that the ministry was working closely with local authorities to uncover the exact details of how the attack took place.
Images reportedly captured some hours before the deadly attack show the congregation.
The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, expressed outrage at the “heinous crime” and condemned it in the “strongest possible terms”.
Journalist Uzay Bulut criticised the west saying, “The indigenous Greek Christians of Syria have been abandoned by the so-called civilized world. They are completely defenseless and vulnerable at the hands of the al-Qaeda terrorist regime in Damascus. The Hellenic Republic must defend them. Or else we will witness the full erasure of yet another ancient Christian community in the region.”