Mar Elias Church: Suicide bomber assault in Syria kills no less than 20 individuals

[ad_1] Aleppo, Syria CNN —

No less than 20 individuals have been killed and 52 extra are injured after a “terrorist assault” on a Greek Orthodox church within the Syrian capital on Sunday, in response to the nation’s well being ministry.

There was no quick declare of accountability for the assault, however Syria’s Ministry of Inside Affairs advised CNN that it was carried out by a “suicide bomber affiliated with the terrorist group ISIS.”

He opened hearth on the congregation of Mar Elias Church in Damascus, earlier than “detonating himself utilizing an explosive vest,” the ministry mentioned in a press release.

A mass was being held on the church on the time of the assault, in response to Syria’s state information company SANA.

A video circulating on Syrian social media from contained in the church exhibits useless our bodies, important destruction, shattered glass and damaged chairs within the space the place mass was being held, with blood seen all through the scene.

Syria’s civil protection, popularly referred to as the White Helmets, mentioned emergency groups have been working to switch the our bodies to hospitals and safe the realm.

“The treacherous hand of evil struck” on Sunday, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch mentioned in a press release, writing that “an explosion occurred on the entrance of the church, ensuing within the deaths of quite a few martyrs and inflicting accidents to many others who have been contained in the church or in its quick neighborhood.”

“We provide our prayers for the repose of the souls of the martyrs, for the therapeutic of the wounded, and for the comfort of our grieving devoted. We reaffirm our unwavering dedication to our religion and, by means of that steadfastness, our rejection of all concern and intimidation,” the church mentioned.

The United Nations Particular Envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, expressed “outrage” on the “heinous crime,” his workplace mentioned in a press release.

“Mr. Pedersen calls on all to unite in rejecting terrorism, extremism, incitement and the focusing on of any neighborhood in Syria. He sends his deepest condolences to the households of the victims and his hope for the restoration of these injured,” the assertion mentioned.

The US’ Particular Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, known as the assault an act of “cowardice,” saying in a press release that it has “no place within the new tapestry of built-in tolerance and inclusion that Syrians are weaving.”

The overseas ministries of Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands additionally spoke out in condemnation of the assault.