An obscure Sunni Islamist group claimed responsibility for Sunday’s suicide attack on the Greek Orthodox church of Saint Elias in Damascus, Syria, which killed 25 people and injured 63.
As AFP reports, a statement from Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said a group operative “blew up the Saint Elias church in the Dwelaa neighborhood of Damascus,” saying it came after unspecified “provocation.”
Following the bombing, authorities had initially blamed ISIS for the terrorist attack. Citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Monitor, AFP reports that the attack was the first suicide attack in a church since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.
The group is accused of involvement in the sectarian massacres in March that the Observatory said killed more than 1,700 people, mostly Alawite civilians.
The Greek Foreign Ministry and the EP issued statements condemning the attack, calling for the protection of religious and cultural minorities.
In a show of courage and defiance, Christians have taken to the streets in Damascus, chanting, “Raise your cross to the highest.”
Syrian authorities on Monday said arrests had been made over the blast.
source AFP
