Suicide Bombing at Damascus Church Kills at Least 20 [View all]

Source: The New York Times

A suicide bomber attacked a Greek Orthodox Church service in Syria’s capital on Sunday, killing at least 20 people and underscoring the new government’s challenge to maintain stability after more than a decade of civil war.

The Syrian authorities said the assailant had opened fire on congregants at the Mar Elias Church in Dweila, a neighborhood of Damascus, before detonating an explosive vest. More than 50 people were wounded.

The attacker appeared to have ties to the Islamic State, the extremist group that once controlled large areas of Syria, the authorities said. It was the first known suicide bombing in the capital since December, when a rebel coalition ousted Syria’s iron-fisted president, Bashar al-Assad, and took power.


Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/world/middleeast/damascus-church-bombing.html