A previously unknown Sunni Muslim extremist group, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, has claimed responsibility for a devastating suicide attack on the Saint Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, which killed 25 people and wounded dozens more. The attack, which occurred on Sunday, has sent shockwaves through Syria’s Christian community and other minorities.
According to a statement released by Saraya Ansar al-Sunna on the messaging app Telegram, a group operative “blew up the Saint Elias church in the Dwelaa neighborhood of Damascus,” citing unspecified “provocation” as the reason for the attack. The group’s statement also warned that “what is coming will not give you respite,” and that “our soldiers… are fully prepared.”
The Syrian government had initially blamed the Islamic State group for the attack and announced several arrests on Monday in a security operation against IS-affiliated cells. However, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna’s statement dismissed the government’s version of events as “untrue, fabricated.”
This attack marks the first suicide bombing in a church in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011. It follows a period of sectarian violence in recent months, including massacres of members of the Alawite sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs, and clashes with Druze fighters.
The incident has raised concerns about the government’s ability to control radical fighters, particularly after Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the offensive that ousted Assad.
Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi, a Syria-based analyst and researcher, has suggested that Saraya Ansar al-Sunna could be “a pro-IS splinter originating primarily from defectors from HTS… and other factions but currently operating independently of IS.”
Alternatively, it could be “just an IS front group,” Tamimi added, citing a Saraya source that claims a disillusioned former HTS functionary heads the group.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor has reported that Saraya Ansar al-Sunna had previously threatened to target Alawites and had carried out an attack in Hama province earlier this year.
The group is also accused of involvement in the sectarian massacres in March that killed over 1,700 people, mostly Alawite civilians.
Pope Leo XIV has expressed his deep sadness over the attack, saying, “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and destruction caused by the attack on the Greek Orthodox church of Mar Elias in Damascus.” The Pope’s Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, added that the Pope “expresses heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy.”
The attack has sparked widespread outrage and concern, highlighting the ongoing security challenges in Syria and the need for continued international efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the region.