Syria suicide bomber 'kills at least 13' after detonating device in church full of worshipers

A suicide bombing inside a church filled with people has killed at least 20 people in Syria.

The explosion in Dweil'a in the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church, leaving at least 53 wounded along with the dead. No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Syrian Interior Ministry identified the perpetrator as a member of the Islamic State group. He is said to have entered the church and fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosive vest. Church Bishop Moussa Khoury said the attacker also threw a grenade into the church during afternoon mass.

He told The Associated Press: "He started shooting, went and then he blew up the church,"

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Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the bombing, calling it a terrorist attack.

"This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together," he said on X. "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 organisations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety."

One eyewitness said he saw the attacker accompanied by two others, who fled as he was driving near the church.

"He was shooting at the church - he then went inside the church and blew himself up," he said.

But Meletius Shahati, a church priest, said there was a second gunman who shot at the church door before the other person detonated himself.

Security forces and first-responders rushed to the church.

Panicked survivors appeared in shock outside the church, and reporters at the scene witnessed one lady fall to her knees and burst into tears. A photo circulated by Syrian state media SANA showed the church's pews covered in debris and blood.

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