Syria suicide bomber 'kills at least 20' after detonating device in church full of worshippers

A horrific suicide bombing inside a church packed 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 with at least one accomplice 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 after forcing his way in 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 (formerly Twitter). "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 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 as reports of the attack emerged/

Panicked survivors appeared in shock outside the church in the aftermath, and reporters at the scene witnessed one lady fall to her knees and burst into tears.

A photo shared by Syrian state media meanwhile showed the church's pews covered in debris and blood.

It's the first major terror attack of its kind to take place in Syria since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebels at the end of last year.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed to protect religious minorities upon coming to power, though recent months have seen some outbreaks of sectarian violence as rival groups attempt to assert their place within the new power structure.

In March, over 100 members of the Alawite ethnic group - a minority once favoured by the Assad regime - were killed by militia groups who affiliated themselves with the government.

Armed men stormed across the coastal city of Banias and asked people if they were Alawite before threatening or killing them, Amnesty International said.