Syria raises Damascus church attack toll to 20 dead, 52 wounded

DAMASCUS, June 22, 2025 (AFP) - Syria's health ministry said an attack on a church in Damascus on Sunday killed 20 people, state media reported, raising an earlier civil defence toll of 15 dead.

"The number of victims in the terrorist attack that targeted the Saint Elias church in the Dwelaa area of Damascus has risen to 20 dead and 52 wounded," said a health ministry statement carried by state news agency SANA.

State news agency SANA reported unspecified casualties. AFP correspondents at the scene saw destruction at the church, with shattered wood from fittings and pews, icons on the ground and pools of blood.

No group immediately claimed responsibility Sunday, but the Syrian Interior Ministry said an extremist group entered the church, fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosives vest, echoing some witness testimonies.

Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, 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 organizations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.”

Church Bishop Moussa Khoury said the attacker also threw a grenade into the church during the afternoon Mass.

“He started shooting, went and then he blew up the church,” he told The Associated Press.

A witness who identified himself as Rawad told AP he saw the attacker who was 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.

However, 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 wailed, as one lady fell 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.