Suicide attack on church in Syria demands at least 20 dead

Suicide attack on church in Syria demands at least 20 dead

in Aleppo, Syria, at least 20 people were killed and 52 more injured after a "terrorist attack" on a Greek orthodox church in the Syrian capital the country's Ministry of Health reported.

Details about the attack

At first there was no responsibility for the attack, but the Interior Ministry of Syria said that it was carried out by a "suicide bomber associated with the terrorist organization ISIS". The assassin opened the fire to the meeting in the Mar Elias Church in Damascus before he blew himself up with an explosive vest.

The situation on site

At the time of the attack, a mass took place in the church, as the state news agency Sana reported. A video that circumnavigates on the social media of Syria shows the cruel scene inside the church with a mild, considerable show, broken glass and damaged chairs, while blood is visible everywhere.

reactions to the attack

The Syrian civil protection organization, known as the white helmets, stated that emergency teams were busy bringing the corpses into hospitals and securing the area.

"The sneaky hand of evil struck", explained the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch in a statement in which they reported that "an explosion at the entrance to the church took place, which led to the death of numerous martyrs and resulted in many other injuries that were in the church or in the immediate vicinity."

prayers and sympathy

"We offer our prayer for the rest of the souls of the martyrs, for the recovery of the wounded and for the comfort of our grieving believers. We reaffirm our unshakable confessions to our belief and our rejection of all fear and intimidation," it said from the church.

international reactions

The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, expressed "outrage" about the "hideous crime", according to his office in a statement. "Mr. Pedersen calls everyone to join together and terrorism, extremism, incitement and the targeted attack of every community in Syria.

The special sentence of the United States for Syria, Thomas Barrack, described the attack as an act of "cowardice" and in a statement that it has no place in the new tissue of integrated tolerance and inclusion that the Syrians weave.

international consensus against terrorism

The Foreign Ministries of Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Qatars, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, Jemens, Omans, Bahrains, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic Opinion and vehemently condemned the attack.

These terrible events once again put a light on the ongoing challenges with which Syria is confronted and require a united international answer to terrorism.