IS blamed for deadly suicide attack on Damascus church • FRANCE 24 English

IS blamed for deadly suicide attack on Damascus church • FRANCE 24 English

[Music] worshippers in Syria are gripped by shock and grief This after the Marilas church was attacked by a suicide bomber with Syrian Christians praying inside Damascus’s Christian community is reeling after these killings The first of their kind since the fall of Bashar al-Assad We had just finished the prayer and were on our way out while people were still inside Then a masked man entered carrying a weapon He opened fire and killed many people The church was full People rushed at him and surrendered him Then he blew himself up at the church door Syrian authorities were quick to accuse the Islamic State for the attack saying it was an attempt to undermine national coexistence and to destabilize the country a strategy that could prove to be effective Following the bombing Orthodox leadership in Damascus urged the government to assume responsibility for the terrorist act Unfortunately our state does not protect us from these acts It is not protecting us at all This gives us the impression that these acts have become institutional and we are not used to asking protection from anyone We are citizens in this country and it’s the responsibility of the state to protect us National security is one of the greatest challenges facing the new Syrian government The country’s interior minister claims to have already foiled several attempted terrorist attacks against Christians and Shiite Muslims In 2011 the Islamic State took control of a portion of Syrian territory before being pushed out by Kurdish forces But the jihadist group has continued to maintain a presence in the Syrian desert

At least 22 people were killed Sunday in a suicide attack on a church in Damascus, authorities said, blaming a member of the Islamic State group for the unprecedented attack. The attack was first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.
#Syria #church #attack

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