Mar Elias Church attack

On 22 June 2025, at least one attacker opened fire and detonated an explosive device inside the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias Church during Divine Liturgy in Damascus, Syria, killing at least 30 people and injuring 54 others.

The Syrian Ministry of Interior said the Islamic State was responsible for the suicide attack, while Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility.

Background

The attack was the first suicide bombing in Damascus since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. The new Islamist government, in an attempt to win over minorities and maintain control against terrorist sleeper cells, has tried to shore up order by aligning with rebel factions and arming neighborhood watch groups.

Christians have been increasingly concerned that weapons are being freely carried around. The attack came after Muslim sheikhs visited Damascus neighborhoods asking Christian residents to convert to Islam, and after killings elsewhere in March and May. The Islamic State has been responsible for many unsuccessful attacks on churches in post-Assad Syria, they massacred the Shiite minority in Sayyidah Zaynab in 2016, and despite its 2019 defeat in Syria, has still carried out several attacks and taken advantage of security weaknesses. According to Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba and Information Minister Hamza Mostafa, the Islamic State and the previous government want to destabilize Syria and attack its civic values.

Attack

On 22 June 2025, on the Synaxis of All Saints of Antioch, an attacker entered the Mar Elias Church in Dweilaa, Damascus, Syria, and began shooting at the 350 people attending the Divine Liturgy, detonating an explosive vest at the entrance as the crowd tried to push him out. At some point, the attacker threw a grenade, according to Moussa Al-Khoury, Bishop of Darayya.